Anti-thrombospondin-1 autoantibody indicated increased disease activity and xerophthalmia incidence in Sjögren disease

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Objective The relationship between anti-thrombospondin-1 antibodies (anti-TSP-1) and the clinical manifestations of Sjögren disease (SjD) has not been fully clarified. This study aimed to analyze the clinical relevance of anti-TSP-1 in SjD. Methods Serum anti-TSP-1 antibody levels were detected by ELISA in 70 SjD patients and 21 healthy controls (HCs). Results Anti-TSP-1 antibody levels were significantly higher in SjD patients (10.63 ± 4.92 vs.7.64 ± 4.70, t = 2.403, P = 0.019). The positivity rates of anti-TSP-1 in SjD patients and HCs were 51.4% (36/70) and 28.6% (6/21), respectively. In SjD patients, elevated anti-TSP-1 antibody levels were positively correlated with IgG ( r = 0.263, P = 0.029) and ESSDAI ( r = 0.277, P = 0.020), but negatively correlated with C4 ( r =-0.253, P = 0.035). Furthermore, the anti-TSP-1-positive group exhibited a significantly higher prevalence of hypergammaglobulinemia and a significantly higher prevalence of xerophthalmia ( χ 2 = 4.939, P = 0.026) than the anti-TSP-1-negative group. Notably, binary logistic regression revealed that anti-TSP-1 positivity remained independently associated with SjD (OR = 8.333, 95% CI:1.682–41.288, P = 0.009) after adjusting for ANA, anti-SSA, and anti-SSB status. Conclusion Elevated anti-TSP-1 antibody levels are associated with increased disease activity in SjD, suggesting that anti-TSP-1 may serve as a potential adjunctive biomarker reflecting specific clinical phenotypes in SjD patients.