High prevalence of necrotising myopathy pattern in muscle biopsies of patients with anti-Jo-1 antisynthetase syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: Until now, researchers have not provided a well-defined muscle histological pattern for antisynthetase syndrome (ASSD). Therefore, we aimed to analyse the muscle biopsies of patients with anti-Jo-1 ASSD. METHODS: This study included 26 patients with anti-Jo-1 ASSD admitted for investigation of the disease and obligatorily with muscle impairment, from 2010 to 2021, whose serial frozen muscle sections were analysed. RESULTS: Patients' mean age at disease diagnosis was 42.8±11.6 years, and the female gender was most predominant. Concerning muscle biopsies, cell infiltrates were present in 76.9% of the samples, and they were mainly located at the endomysium area (70%), with a predominance of macrophages (92.9%). Fiber muscle necrosis was present in 92.3% and was diffused in 54.2%. Expression of MHC-I was seen in all samples. Samples were mostly marked by the presence of CD68+ and discreet/low CD4+ and CD8+ staining, which is consistent with a higher predominance of observed necrosis and macrophage cell infiltrates. In general, 38.5% of patients had a necrotising myopathy pattern in muscle biopsies, whereas 34.6% and 26.9% had a general inflammatory myopathy pattern and nonspecific myopathy, respectively. This necrotising myopathy pattern was not associated with the demographic, clinical, or laboratory data. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that almost 40% of patients with well-defined anti-Jo-1 ASSD with objective muscle impairment have a necrotising myopathy pattern in their muscle biopsies. Although this pattern is more classically related to immune-mediated necrotising myopathies, in association with clinical manifestations and the presence of anti-Jo-1 autoantibodies, this characteristic may lead to ASSD diagnosis.

Systemic autoimmune myopathies: a prospective phase 4 controlled trial of an inactivated virus vaccine against SARS-CoV-2.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate immunogenicity and safety of an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in systemic autoimmune myopathies (SAMs) and the possible influence of baseline disease parameters, comorbidities and therapy on immune response. METHODS: This prospective controlled study included 53 patients with SAMs and 106 non-immunocompromised control group (CTRL). All participants received two doses of the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine (28-day interval). Immunogenicity was assessed by anti-SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 IgG seroconversion (SC), anti-S1/S2 IgG geometric mean titre (GMT), factor increase GMT (FI-GMT), neutralizing antibodies (NAb) positivity, and median neutralizing activity after each vaccine dose (D0 and D28) and six weeks after the second dose (D69). Participants with pre-vaccination positive IgG serology and/or NAb and those with RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 during the protocol were excluded from immunogenicity analysis. RESULTS: Patients and CTRL had comparable sex (P>0.99) and age (P=0.90). Immunogenicity of 37 patients and 79 CTRL-naïve participants revealed at D69, a moderate but significantly lower SC (64.9% vs 91.1%, P<0.001), GMT [7.9 (95%CI 4.7-13.2) vs 24.7 (95%CI 30.0-30.5) UA/ml, P<0.001] and frequency of NAb (51.4% vs 77.2%, P<0.001) in SAMs compared with CTRL. Median neutralizing activity was comparable in both groups [57.2% (interquartile range (IQR) 43.4-83.4) vs 63.0% (IQR 40.3-80.7), P=0.808]. Immunosuppressives were less frequently used among NAb+ patients vs NAb- patients (73.7% vs 100%, P=0.046). Type of SAMs, disease status, other drugs or comorbidities did not influence immunogenicity. Vaccine-related adverse events were mild with similar frequencies in patients and CTRL (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Sinovac-CoronaVac is safe and has a moderate short-term immunogenicity in SAMs, but reduced compared with CTRL. We further identified that immunosuppression is associated with diminished NAb positivity. TRIAL REGISTRATION: COVID-19 CoronaVac in Patients With Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases and HIV/AIDS (CoronavRheum), http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04754698.