Lip tissue contains salivary glands and is the anatomic location of choice for biopsy.
Since the early onset pathology of SS is more localized than in other systemic autoimmune diseases, attempts were made to culture an infectious agent from salivary tissue of SS patients. Salivary gland tissues were collected by lip biopsies of persons with SS, and a crude tissue homogenate was added to cultures the RH9 subclone of HuT 78, a T-lymphoblastoid cell line. Since a portion of SS patients make antibodies reactive with the gag proteins of HIV, we postulated that antibodies reactive to HIV gag proteins might react with a putative retrovirus of SS patients. Uninfected RH9 cells did not produce HIV antigens in cell supernatants or cell lysates detectable in this assay. Cultures from four other biopsies from SS patients and one healthy individual remained negative for HIV reactive antigens by EIA for over 24 weeks.