Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is a chronic autoimmune disorder of unknown cause. Haneji et al identified a 120 kDa fragment of the ubiquitous cytoskeletal protein α-fodrin as an autoantigen in an NFS/sld mouse model of human SS.¹ More recently, the sensitivity and specificity of α-fodrin antibodies in SS in several studies suggested that it might be of value in the diagnosis of SS.^1–3 In the present study, a conserved motif, rather than the whole protein, in α-fodrin was used as antigenic peptide to define further the role of anti-α-fodrin antibodies in SS. This is the first study so far to evaluate the prevalence of anti-α-fodrin peptide antibodies (α-FPA) in a cohort of Chinese patients with SS.

Serum samples from 89 patients with SS (85 female, 4 male; 74 with primary SS (pSS) and 15 with …