Abstract: Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a chronic autoimmune disease primarily characterized by dry mouth and dry eyes, and its pathogenesis remains incompletely understood. Group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s), which are distributed throughout the intestinal and respiratory mucosa, secrete cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-22 and IL-17, which are critical for maintaining tissue homeostasis and modulating inflammatory responses. Emerging evidence from immunofluorescence analyses reveals that in the salivary glands of SS patients, ILC3s constitute the predominant innate lymphoid cell population (approximately 95.8%) and are significantly enriched within lymphocytic infiltrates compared to controls. Additionally, how functional alterations of ILC3s and their interactions with the gut microbiota contribute to intestinal dysfunction in SS remains to be investigated. This article aims to review the role of ILC3s in SS and to explore the underlying mechanisms involved, thereby providing insights for future research into disease pathogenesis and potential therapeutic targets.
Wu et al. (2026) studied this question.