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Distinct profiles of myositis-specific autoantibodies in Chinese and Japanese patients with polymyositis/dermatomyositis

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Abstract

The study aims to comprehensively assess the profiles of myositis-specific autoantibodies (MSAs) in Chinese patients with polymyositis (PM)/dermatomyositis (DM) and compare them with a Japanese cohort. One hundred forty-five Chinese patients (68 classic DM, 25 clinically amyopathic DM [CADM], and 52 PM) and 165 Japanese patients (56 classic DM, 52 CADM, and 57 PM) were recruited. MSAs were measured with immunoprecipitation, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, or immunoprecipitation–immunoblotting. MSA frequencies were compared. The overall frequency of anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) antibodies was significantly higher in the Chinese patients than in the Japanese cohort (36.6 % [53/145] versus 15.8 % [26/165], respectively, P < 0.001), whereas the frequencies of anti-signal recognition particle (SRP) antibodies (1.4 % [2/145] versus 7.9 % [13/165], respectively, P = 0.008) and anti-aminoacyl-transfer RNA synthetase (anti-ARS) antibodies (27.6 % [40/145] versus 40 % [66/165], respectively, P = 0.02,) were significantly lower. The significantly lower frequency of anti-ARS antibodies and significantly higher frequency of anti-MDA5 antibodies in the Chinese patients were observed in the classic DM subset (14.7 % [10/68] versus 46.4 % [26/56], respectively, P < 0.001, and 45.6 % [31/68] versus 5.4 % [3/56], respectively, P < 0.001) and CADM subset (8.0 % [2/25] versus 28.8 % [15/52], respectively, P = 0.04, and 88.0 % [22/25] versus 44.2 % [23/52], respectively, P = 0.0002), but not in the PM subset. The first detailed profile of MSAs in Chinese patients with PM/DM was established. The differences in MSA frequencies in the Chinese cohort and Japanese cohort suggest underlying genetic and/or environmental differences between these two populations.

Key Messages

• A significantly higher frequency of anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) antibodies was observed in Chinese patients with polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM) than in Japanese patients.

• Our findings suggest that distinct genetic and/or local environmental factors affect Chinese and Japanese patients with PM/DM, who have been considered a “homogeneous” population in previous studies.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Yuka Okazaki for her excellent technical assistance. This study was supported, in part, by the Nanjing Medical Science and Technique Development Foundation (Z.C.), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Z.C., no. 81302556), and the Jiangsu Province Kejiao Xingwei Program Foundation (L.S.), and a research grant for intractable diseases from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (M.K.).

Competing interests

MK holds a patent for an anti-MDA5-antibody-measuring kit.

Author contributions

Z.C., W.H., Y.W., and Z.G. collected the samples and clinical data. Z.C. and M.K. performed the analyses and drafted the manuscript. M.K. and L.S. oversaw the whole project and helped to prepare the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University Medical School, 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Zhiyong Chen, Yan Wang, Ziwei Guo & Lingyun Sun

  2. Department of Clinical Laboratory, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China

    Wei Hu

  3. Department of Allergy and Rheumatology, Nippon Medical School Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8603, Japan

    Masataka Kuwana

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  1. Zhiyong Chen
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  2. Wei Hu
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  3. Yan Wang
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  4. Ziwei Guo
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  5. Lingyun Sun
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  6. Masataka Kuwana
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Correspondence to Lingyun Sun or Masataka Kuwana.

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Chen, Z., Hu, W., Wang, Y. et al. Distinct profiles of myositis-specific autoantibodies in Chinese and Japanese patients with polymyositis/dermatomyositis. Clin Rheumatol 34, 1627–1631 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-015-2935-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-015-2935-9

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