Association of anti-Ro-52 antibodies with occurrence of interstitial lung disease in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathy

Background: Anti-Ro-52 antibodies have been associated with interstitial lung disease (ILD) in various autoimmune diseases. However, their role in ILD among patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) is relatively underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the association between anti-Ro-52 antibodies and the occurrence of ILD in individuals with IIMs.

Methods: This retrospective observational study included 604 patients who underwent myositis autoantibody testing between July 2018 and January 2021 at our hospital and were diagnosed with either IIMs or IIM-mimics. Comparative analyses were conducted between IIMs and IIM-mimics, as well as within the IIM group between cases with and without ILD. Logistic regression or Firth's logistic regression analyses were employed to assess the risk of ILD development in different IIM subgroups and myositis antibody categories.

Results: This study included 190 patients with IIM and 414 patients with IIM-mimics. Patients with IIM demonstrated higher incidence of ILD, concurrent autoimmune disease, and a greater likelihood of various myositis autoantibodies when compared to the IIM-mimics group. Within the IIM patient cohort, those with ILD exhibited a later age of onset of IIM, an increased mortality rate, and a more frequent presence of anti-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (ARS) antibodies compared to those without ILD. The presence of any myositis-specific antibody (MSA) was associated with a six-fold increased risk of ILD, while dual positivity for MSA and anti-Ro-52 antibodies conferred a twenty-fold risk. Anti-ARS antibodies carried a 14-fold increased risk of ILD, which escalated to 38-fold in cases of dual positivity for anti-ARS and anti-Ro-52 antibodies. Anti-Ro-52 antibodies alone increased the risk eight-fold.

Conclusions: Among patients with IIM, the presence of ILD was linked to higher mortality. Certain autoantibodies, notably anti-ARS and anti-Ro-52 antibodies, were associated with an increased risk of ILD. The greatest risk of ILD was observed in cases of dual positivity for anti-ARS and anti-Ro-52 antibodies.