Fig. 1: Transcriptomic analysis and lactate quantification in SG tissue.

a, Workflow of the murine sialadenitis model, showing a representation of the mouse submandibular SG and the cannula used for the delivery of the AdV (AV) vector into the gland. The timeline depicts ELS formation within the SGs following injection of the AdV type-5 vector. b, Supervised heatmap of differentially expressed genes from bulk RNA-seq of murine SGs collected at 0, 5 and 12 days post cannulation (DPC). c, Expression levels of selected genes related to lactate transporters, metabolic enzymes downstream of lactate signalling and inflammatory mediators in murine SGs collected at 0, 5 and 12 days post cannulation (n = 10 per time point). Adjusted P values calculated using DESeq2 (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001). d, Lactate concentrations in SGs from non-cannulated (control) and cannulated (experimental) mice at day 5 (n = 6 glands per group). Data are expressed as means, normalized to tissue weight; error bars, s.d. Statistical significance was assessed using the Mann–Whitney U-test, **P < 0.01. e, Schematic overview of the bulk RNA-seq workflow used for analysing human SG tissue. f, Expression levels of selected mRNA transcripts related to lactate transporters, metabolic enzymes downstream of lactate signalling and inflammatory mediators in human SGs. This comparison involves sicca and SjD SGs classified as ELS− or ELS+ based on histological analysis of matched biopsies (adjusted P values calculated by DESeq2, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001). g, Scaled average expression and the percentage of cells with any expression of lactate dehydrogenase (LDHA or LDHB) mRNA transcripts per cell cluster in both SjD and non-SjD sicca SGs. Data were generated from disaggregated minor labial SG biopsies (n = 7 patients per disease).