The SjD Map: an interactive pathway tour into Sjögren’s disease signalling mechanisms

Sjögren's disease (SjD) remains a major unmet medical challenge, characterised by biological complexity, patient heterogeneity, and the absence of curative treatments. To advance mechanistic understanding and support therapeutic discovery, we developed a comprehensive Molecular Interaction Map (MIM). Differential expression analyses were conducted on peripheral blood samples from SjD patients and healthy controls across three datasets (GSE51092, UKPSSR, PRECISESADS), identifying 1,625 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), of which 25 were shared across all datasets. Nine common DEGs were linked to interferon signalling, reinforcing its pivotal role in SjD pathogenesis. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed 137 pathways, 43 of which were integrated into the MIM alongside literature-derived knowledge. The resulting SjD Map, freely available at https://sjdmap.elixir-luxembourg.org/, encompasses 829 molecular entities connected by 598 interactions by transcriptomic data and by curated evidence. This first comprehensive SjD Map provides an integrative framework for visualising pathways, overlaying omics data, and exploring therapeutic opportunities.