ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Rheumatology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1573973
Comparison of the effect of iguratimod and hydroxychloroquine on regulatory B cells in the treatment of primary Sjögren's syndrome
Provisionally accepted
Jin-Mei Zou1Li Yang1Jia-Ang Luo1Yan Ren2Si-Yin Li1Yu Zhang1Jian-Ling Dong1Dai-Hua Deng1Yuan-Piao Ni1Min Li1Xiao-Shuang Yin1
Jing Yang1*- 1Mianyang Central Hospital, Mianyang, Sichuan Province, China
- 2The First Veterans Hospital of Sichuan Province, China, China
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Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of iguratimod (IGU) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in the treatment of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS).Methods: This was a randomised controlled study. A total of 60 patients with pSS in Mianyang Central Hospital were recruited between December 2020 and December 2022. They were randomly divided into two groups: the IGU group and the HCQ group. Treatment in the IGU group was as follows: ≤10 mg of prednisone per day, 25 mg of IGU twice a day; treatment in the HCQ group was as follows: ≤10 mg of prednisone per day, 0.2 g of HCQ twice a day. The EULAR Sjögren's Syndrome Disease Activity Index (ESSDAI) and the European League Against Desiccation Sjögren's Syndrome Patient Reported Index (ESSPRI) were used to assess disease activity.Results: After 6 months of treatment, the levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and ESSPRI in the IGU group were significantly lower than those in the HCQ group and the levels of CD19+CD5+CD1d+ B cells were significantly higher than those in the HCQ group (p < 0.05). Compared with baseline, the serum IgG level, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), B lymphocytes, ESSDAI, ESSPRI and Functional Assessment Of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) were significantly decreased and CD19+CD5+CD1d+ B cells were significantly increased in the IGU group after 6 months of treatment. In the HCQ group, C-reactive protein, ESR, ESSDAI, ESSPRI and FACIT were significantly decreased; there was no significant difference in regulatory B cells before and after treatment.Conclusion: Both IGU and HCQ can reduce the disease activity and fatigue score of patients with pSS. However, IGU was superior to HCQ in reducing IgG levels. Furthermore, IGU can affect the levels of peripheral blood B lymphocytes and CD19+CD5+CD1d+ B cells.
Keywords: primary Sjögren's syndrome, regulatory B cells, Iguratimod, Hydroxychloroquine, Treatment
Received: 10 Feb 2025; Accepted: 29 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zou, Yang, Luo, Ren, Li, Zhang, Dong, Deng, Ni, Li, Yin and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jing Yang, Mianyang Central Hospital, Mianyang, 621000, Sichuan Province, China
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