Characteristics and prognostic implications of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in patients with anti-MDA5 antibody positive dermatomyositis-interstitial lung disease.

Objectives: To examine the characteristics of blood lymphocyte subsets in dermatomyositis-interstitial lung disease (DM-ILD) inflicted patients with positive anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (anti-MDA5), as well as its prognosis value in this set of patients.

Methods: Data were retrospectively collected from 253 DM-ILD patients from three hospitals in China between January 2016 to January 2021. Patients were grouped into anti-MDA5 antibody positive group (MDA5 DM-ILD) and anti-MDA5 antibody negative group (MDA5 DM-ILD) based on myositis-specific autoantibody test results.