Extended Data Fig. 1: Gene expression and correlation analysis of inflammatory mediators in salivary glands.

(a) Expression levels of selected genes related to inflammatory mediators involved in ectopic lymphoid structure (ELS) formation and function in murine salivary glands collected at 0-, 5-, and 12-days post-cannulation. Adjusted p-values calculated by DESeq2 (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001). (b) Flow cytometry gating strategy showing the phenotype of CD4+ T cells producing IL21 (top panel). Frequency of IL21-producing T CD4+ cells with a Tfh-phenotype (CD4 + / CXCR5 + , bottom left panel), and frequency of IL21+ cells in the Tfh cell population (CD4 + / CXCR5 + /PD1 + , bottom right panel) in murine salivary glands collected at 0-, 5-, and 12-days post-cannulation.Data are expressed as mean ± SD from n = 13 glands per group. (c) Unsupervised heatmap of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) comparing SjD patients versus sicca controls. (d) Immunohistochemistry staining of human kidney tissue using anti-SLC5A12 antibody. (e) Correlation plots of SLC5A12 expression with inflammatory mediator genes relevant to ELS formation and function. Gene expression was evaluated using real-time PCR (n = 18). Spearman correlation coefficient (r) and p-values (two-sided) are shown.