Since tissue samples from exocrine glands in human SS subjects are indeed difficult to acquire due to ethical reasons, in order to study the alterations of these proteins and their relation to the pathogenesis of dry eye disease, we chose to use the NOD mouse (a model mouse of SS) to investigate the changes in E-FABP (FABP5), which is expressed in the oral mucosa, ocular surface, and exocrine glands, in an attempt to understand its role in the pathogenesis of dry eye disease. This evidence concerns the gene FABP5 and synovial sarcoma.