The correlation between Ro-52 antibody and interstitial lung disease in dermatomyositis

Abstract Background Recent studies have shown that Ro-52 antibody is associated with interstitial lung disease(ILD) in children with dermatomyositis(DM) and with the degree of disease severity. Moreover, we found that 50% or more cases of adult patients with DM tested positive for antibody Ro-52. Here, we analyzed the correlation between antibody Ro-52 and ILD in inpatients with DM. Objective To explore the correlation between Ro-52 antibody and ILD of DM. Methods A total of 153 patients with DM were collected, who met the classification criteria of idiopathic inflammatory myositis. Immunoblotting was used to detect 16 myositis-specific autoantibodies (MSAs) and myositis-associated autoantibodies (MAAs) from patient serum samples. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) was used to calculate the ILD severity score, and the tumors were screened. The clinical data and CT scores were analyzed retrospectively. Results Our data showed that antibodies of Ro-52 and MDA5 were risk factors for ILD development in patients with DM. Antibody Ro-52 was the most commonly occurring (52.9%) antibody in DM patients. The presence of Ro-52 in DM patients strongly suggested the possibility for the occurrence of ILD (86.4%). The severity of Ro-52-positive cases was higher than that of the Ro-52-negative cases.Ro-52 may increase the incidence of ILD when combined with other antibodies of PM-Scl75, PM-Scl100, TIF1-𝛾,Mi-2β,and MDA5. Conclusions The occurrence of ILD is highly likely in patients with DM having the antibody Ro-52. Thus, Ro-52 is a risk factor for ILD in DM.