Type i interferon increases inflammasomes associated pyroptosis in the salivary glands of patients with primary sjögren's syndrome

Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a chronic and systemic autoimmune disease characterized by lymphocytic infiltration in the exocrine glands. In SS, type I IFN has a pathogenic role, and recently, inflammasome activation has been observed in both immune and non-immune cells. However, the relationship between type I IFN and inflammasome-associated pyroptosis in SS has not been studied. We measured IL-18, caspase-1, and IFN-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) in saliva and serum, and compared whether the expression levels of inflammasome and pyroptosis components, including absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2), NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), apoptosis-associated speck-like protein (ASC), caspase-1, gasdermin D (GSDMD), and gasdermin E (GSDME), in minor salivary gland (MSG) are related to the expression levels of type I IFN signature genes. Expression of type I IFN signature genes was correlated with mRNA levels of caspase-1 and GSDMD in MSG. In confocal analysis, the expression of caspase-1 and GSDMD was higher in salivary gland epithelial cells (SGECs) from SS patients. In the type I IFN-treated human salivary gland epithelial cell line, the expression of caspase-1 and GSDMD was increased, and pyroptosis was accelerated in a caspase-dependent manner upon inflammasome activation. In conclusion, we demonstrate that type I IFN may contribute to inflammasome-associated pyroptosis of the SGECs of SS patients, suggesting another pathogenic role of type I IFN in SS in terms of target tissue-SGECs destruction.