The TGF-β1 Signaling Pathway as an Attractive Target in the Fibrosis Pathogenesis of Sjögren’s Syndrome

Figure 2

(a) EMT-related markers are significantly differentially expressed in pSS SGEC compared with healthy control tissues. The figure shows the immunohistochemical localization of SNAIL, E-cadherin, and vimentin in healthy (panels A, C, E) and pSS (panels B, D, F) SG biopsies. Clear differences in the immunostaining of Snail were detected in the nuclei of the acinar and ductal cells in pSS SG tissue (B) in comparison with healthy biopsies (A). E-cadherin was highly expressed in normal control SG tissues (C), and the expression of E-cadherin decreased strongly in diseased biopsies (D). A marked positivity for vimentin in pSS specimens was observed (F) than in healthy control SGs in which vimentin expression was significantly lower (E). Brown staining shows positive immunoreaction. (A, B, C, D, E, F) original magnification, ×20; . All images were scanned analyzed with Aperio ImageScope instrument. (b) (G, H, I) represents immunohistochemistry signal quantification of Snail, E-cadherin, and vimentin, respectively, in healthy and pSS biopsies performed by the use of the computerized morphometric analysis software Aperio ScanScope and expressed in terms of pixel/intensities; graphs demonstrate a significant increased expression of Snail and vimentin and a reduction of E-cadherin in pSS () (data represent of three independent experiments).