Evangelia Zampeli & Aliki Venetsanopoulou & Ourania D. Argyropoulou & Clio P. Mavragani & Maria G. Tektonidou & Panayiotis G. Vlachoyiannopoulos & Athanasios G. Tzioufas & Fotini N. Skopouli & Haralampos M. Moutsopoulos
Abstract
Myositis-specific (MSAs) or-associated autoantibodies (MAAs) have been linked to particular clinical phenotypes of idiopathic
inflammatory myopathies (IIM) and appear to aid diagnosis. The objective of this study was to analyze the prevalence of MSAs
and MAAs and their possible clinical associations in Greek IIM patients. This study comprised 95 IIM patients classified based
on the 2017 EULAR/ACR classification criteria. All patients had MSAs and MAAs measured in their sera by line immunoblot
assay. Dermatomyositis was the most prevalent IIM clinical subtype. MSAs were found in 44% of the patients, whereas MAAs in
23%. The most frequently detected MSA was anti-Jo-1 (22%), while the most frequently detected MAA was anti-Ro-52 (30%).
The distributions of MSAs/MAAs did not differ between the five IIM subgroups, except for anti-Mi-2 which was only detected in
dermatomyositis patients. Patients with at least one MSA and/or MAA positivity showed more frequently IIM characteristic skin
rashes, while those presenting solely MAA positivity had more often puffy hands and Raynaud’s phenomenon. Anti-Jo1-positive
patients presented more frequently lung disease, while anti-Ro52 positivity related to mechanic’s hands. Anti-Ro-52 and anti-Jo1
strongly associated with one another. Prevalence of IIM subtypes and of MSAs/MAAs in our patients is in line with published
reports in populations of similar geographic distribution. While MSA and/or MAA positivity did associate with particular clinical
manifestations, it did not predict in our cohort specific IIM subgroup as defined by the latest EULAR/ACR classification criteria.
Future studies are warranted to conclusively decide if these autoantibodies, measured with a standardized method, should or not
be incorporated in every day clinical practice to aid IIM diagnosis.
Keywords Dermatomyositis . Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies . Myositis-associated autoantibodies .
Myositis-specific autoantibodies . Polymyositis
