Type I Interferons in Dermatomyositis Myoblasts

Dermatomyositis is an autoimmune disease variably affecting muscle, skin, lung, and other tissues. Autoantibodies against nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins can be used to define relatively homogeneous subgroups of patients and identify specific subtypes.1 For example, patients with anti-Mi2 have severe muscle involvement, moderate skin involvement, and virtually no lung involvement,2 whereas patients with anti-MDA5 autoantibodies usually have mild muscle involvement, but severe skin involvement with frequent palmar or oral ulcerations, and significant interstitial lung disease, which can be rapidly progressive and highly lethal.1