Local and Systemic IKK and NF-B Signaling Associated with Sjögren’s Syndrome Immunopathogenesis

Figure 1

pIKKε, pIκBα, and pNF-κB p65 were highly expressed in MSG from patients with pSS. Three pSS subgroups were classified by the grade of the inflammatory lesion (pSS-I: mild, pSS-II: intermediate, and pSS-III: severe lesions) by HE staining of MSG tissue (top row). The expression of pIKKε (second row, middle arrow), pIκBα (third row, large arrow), and pNF-κB p65 (bottom row, small arrow) was also detected in sections of MSG tissue by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining (brown), combined with counterstaining with Mayer’s hematoxylin (blue). More severe infiltration grade was accompanied by higher expression of pIKKε, pIκBα, and pNF-κB p65. Representative examples are shown. Original magnification: ×200 for HE staining and ×400 for pIKKε, pIκBα, and pNF-κB p65 IHC. All data are representative of three independent experiments.