Review Primary Sjogren Syndrome: Focus on Innate Immune Cells and Inflammation Chiara Rizzo 1, Giulia Grasso 1, Giulia Maria Destro Castaniti 1, Francesco Ciccia 2 and Giuliana Guggino 1,* 1 Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Rheumatology Section, University of Palermo, Piazza delle Cliniche 2, 90110 Palermo, Italy;
[email protected] (C.R.);
[email protected] (G.G.);
[email protected] (G.M.D.C.) 2 Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Via L. De Crecchio 7, 80138 Naples, Italy;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +39-091-6552260 Received: 30 April 2020; Accepted: 29 May 2020; Published: 3 June 2020 Abstract: Primary Sjogren Syndrome (pSS) is a complex, multifactorial rheumatic disease that mainly targets salivary and lacrimal glands, inducing epithelitis. The cause behind the autoimmunity outbreak in pSS is still elusive; however, it seems related to an aberrant reaction to exogenous triggers such as viruses, combined with individual genetic pre-disposition. For a long time, autoantibodies were considered as the hallmarks of this disease; however, more recently the complex interplay between innate and adaptive immunity as well as the consequent inflammatory process have emerged as the main mechanisms of pSS pathogenesis. The present review will focus on innate cells and on the principal mechanisms of inflammation connected. In the first part, an overview of innate cells involved in pSS pathogenesis is provided, stressing in particular the role of Innate Lymphoid Cells (ILCs). Subsequently we have highlighted the main inflammatory pathways, including intra- and extra-cellular players.