Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by lymphocytic infiltration and tissue destruction of salivary and lachrymal glands, leading to severe dry eyes and dry mouth symptoms. SS is further complicated with systemic inflammations including lung and kidney injuries, while the development of B cellmalignancy in SS is highest among systemic autoimmune diseases. Due to the limited understanding of disease pathogenesis, SS patients have suffered from a lack of effective treatments in clinical management. We have recently established a mouse model for experimental SS (ESS) that recapitulates the hallmarks of human SS. Using this model, we have identified a series of contributing factors including IL-17Aproducing Th17 cells, IL-17E, T follicular helper cells and IL-10-producing regulatory B cells in the disease pathogenesis. Moreover, our drug screening tests also demonstrated the effectiveness of both botanical compounds, synthetic small molecules and biological treatments in targeting these contributing factors, which may serve as novel therapeutic strategies for treating human SS.

Dr. Xiang LIN has completed his PhD degree at the School of Chinese Medicine, the University of Hong Kong. He did his postdoctoral trainings at the Department of Pathology and focused on autoimmune disease. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor with research interests of dissecting autoimmune pathogenesis and exploring the therapeutic strategies of Sjogren’s syndrome. He has published more than 25 papers in reputed journals and served as editorial board members of Frontiers of Immunology and Journal of Leukocyte Biology.