Association of anti-Ro52 autoantibodies with interstitial lung disease in connective tissue diseases

We read with great interest the article by Sabbagh et al demonstrating that anti-Ro52 autoantibodies were connected with the development of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in patients with juvenile myositis.1 Anti-Ro52 has been found in a variety of connective tissue diseases (CTDs) and drawn considerable attention from rheumatologists in recent years. Besides myositis, these autoantibodies have also been reported to be related to ILD in several other CTDs, but with great discrepancy across the studies.2 In addition, it remains unclear how the incidence of ILD differs in the presence of anti-Ro52 alone or in combination with anti-Ro60 (Sjogren's syndrome related antigen A), one of the most associated antibodies that may determine anti-Ro52 …