New aspects of clinical and immunological characteristics in patients with anti-asparaginyl tRNA synthetase (anti-KS) autoantibody.

OBJECTIVES: Anti-asparaginyl tRNA synthetase (anti-KS) antibody is present in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) accompanied by polymyositis/dermatomyositis. We examined clinical/immunological features of these patients. METHODS: Polymyositis/dermatomyositis or ILD patients were screened for autoantibodies, and clinical/immunological data were collected retrospectively. ILD was diagnosed by computed tomography, and clinical/immunological features of anti-KS-positive patients were compared with those of anti-Jo-1-positive patients. RESULTS: Sixteen anti-KS-positive patients [female = 11; male = 5; average age 63.6 years (range, 40-81) years] were diagnosed: seven had ILD, four had clinically amyopathic DM (CADM) and ILD, three had Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and ILD one each had rheumatoid arthritis and ILD, or CADM/SS overlap and ILD. All patients had ILD with chronic onset and clinical course; 11/16 (69%) had nonspecific interstitial pneumonia, and five (31%) had usual interstitial pneumonia pattern. Regarding skin manifestations, 4 (27%) had typical DM rash and 11 (69%) had mechanic's hands. All anti-KS-positive patients had no clinical muscle weakness or serum creatine kinase elevation; 8/16 patients (50%) had sicca symptoms at a significantly high frequency compared with anti-Jo-1-positive patients (50% vs 11%, P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Anti-KS-positive patients might form a distinguishable subset closely associated with sicca symptoms, CADM and chronic-type ILD with a relatively favourable prognosis.

Related factors, increased mortality and causes of death in patients with rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease.

Objectives: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a life-threatening extra-articular manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We aimed to clarify the relationship between chronic ILD with a pattern of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) or non-UIP and mortality in RA patients.Methods: We retrospectively surveyed information of consecutive RA patients who visited our hospital from 2009 to 2014. The relationship between their mortality and chronic ILD (UIP or non-UIP) detected by high-resolution computed tomography was examined.Results: Of 2702 patients enrolled, 261 (9.7%) had chronic ILD and among these 120 had a UIP pattern. At the onset of RA, the prevalence of chronic ILD was 6%. Patients with chronic ILD had a higher mortality than those without. The most frequent cause of death was pneumonia including acute exacerbation (AE) of chronic ILD. Lung cancer death was frequently identified in deceased patients with chronic ILD with a UIP pattern compared with the other decedents (p=.062). The estimated mortality of lung cancer in patients with chronic ILD with a UIP pattern was five times higher than the general population.Conclusion: RA patients with ILD with a UIP pattern have a high mortality rate and are prone to die of AE or lung cancer.

Neutrophil CD64 for monitoring the activity of nontuberculous mycobacteria infection in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of neutrophil CD64 as a marker for monitoring the activity of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: We compared neutrophil CD64 expression in nine RA patients with NTM infection in the active and inactive phase of NTM disease chronologically. "Active phase" was here defined as present in patients admitted to hospital to receive intensive treatment for NTM, as well as outpatients with an infectious episode showing positive acid- and alcohol-fast bacillus (AFB) staining of sputa (Grade 2-3) who needed to start treatment for NTM with a multiple antibiotics regimen. The cut-off value for CD64 positivity was 2000 molecules/cell. RESULTS: Neutrophils from patients with active-phase NTM infection expressed high levels of CD64 with a mean ± SEM of 7335 ± 784 molecules/cell. However, during the inactive phase of disease, this was significantly lower (1481 ± 103 molecules/cell, p < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of neutrophil CD64 to detect active-phase NTM infection was 96.3% and 84.6%, respectively. Expression of neutrophil CD64 was not affected by disease activity of the RA itself. CONCLUSIONS: Neutrophil CD64 is useful for monitoring disease activity in NTM infection of patients with RA.

Human leucocyte antigens and Japanese patients with polymyalgia rheumatica: the protective effect of DRB1*09:01.

OBJECTIVE: The hallmarks of the chronic inflammatory disease polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) include pain, and morning stiffness in areas of the neck, shoulder and pelvic girdle. The human leucocyte antigen (HLA) gene was reported to be an important risk factor for PMR, but it has not been analysed precisely, especially in populations other than Europeans. METHODS: Genotyping of DRB1 and DQB1 was performed in Japanese PMR patients (n=270) and controls (n=413). Associations between allele carrier and genotype frequencies were determined for PMR. RESULTS: DRB1*04:05 was associated with a predisposition to PMR (p=0.0006, Pc=0.0193, OR 1.85, 95% CI 1.31 to 2.62). DRB1*09:01 was associated with protection against PMR (p=1.46×10-5, Pc=0.0004, OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.61). A shared epitope (SE) associated with PMR (p=3.07×10-6, OR 2.11, 95% CI 1.54 to 2.88). DQB1*03:03 (p=0.0010, Pc=0.0140, OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.77) was associated with protection against PMR and DQB1*04:01 (p=0.0009, Pc=0.0140, OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.28 to 2.58) was associated with predisposition to PMR. A gene dosage effect was observed for DRB1*09:01 and DQB1*03:03, but not for DRB1*04:05, SE or DQB1*04:01. Haplotype and logistic regression analyses suggested a protective effect for DRB1*09:01. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to demonstrate predisposing associations of DRB1*04:05, SE, and DQB1*04:01, and protective associations of DRB1*09:01 and DQB1*03:03 with PMR in Japanese patients. Our data indicate HLA has predisposing and protective effects on the pathogenesis of PMR.

Selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor cross-reactivity in aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease.

Aspirin-induced asthma (AIA) is a severe and difficult-to-treat allergic disease in which acute asthma attacks are induced by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Patients with AIA rarely experience asthma attacks when taking celecoxib, a specific inhibitor of cyclooxygenase (COX) 2. A 33-year-old woman had a severe asthma attack with hypoxia and lost consciousness after oral provocation testing with 15 mg of aspirin and also with 50 mg of celecoxib. After 2 months of treatment with 10 mg/day of oral prednisolone, 1600 µg/day of inhaled fluticasone propionate, montelukast as a leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA), and long-term beta-agonist, we again challenged her with a provocation test with up to 200 mg of celecoxib; this time there were neither allergic symptoms nor decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 second. Patients with severe or poorly controlled asthma may experience asthma attacks even if using selective COX-2 inhibitors. However, treatment with steroids and an LTRAs may inhibit asthma attacks induced by celecoxib.

An autopsy case of necrotizing fasciitis with rapidly progressive purpura caused by hemolytic streptococcal infection in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis.

A 77-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis was admitted as an emergency because of pain in the right leg with purpura. She was diagnosed with severe cellulitis and sepsis and started on intravenous antibiotics; however, the lesion rapidly extended to the proximal thigh and she died only 38 h after the onset of the first symptom. Autopsy and tissue culture revealed necrotizing fasciitis caused by Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis. Physicians should consider that necrotizing fasciitis may be present when soft-tissue disorder is suspected in patients receiving corticosteroid therapy, which is associated with tissue fragility and immunosuppression.

Cutaneous methotrexate-related T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder with CD4, CD30, CD56, EBV-positive tumor cell infiltration: a case illustration and a brief review.

Methotrexate (MTX) is a commonly used anti-metabolite agent. Long-term MTX treatment can cause MTX-related lymphoproliferative disorder (MTX-LPD). T-cell LPDs comprise a small fraction of MTX-LPDs. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)+ tumor cells are rarely detected in MTX-related T-cell LPDs (MTX T-LPDs). Therefore, there have been very few reports of EBV+ MTX T-LPD. We encountered a case of cutaneous MTX T-LPD with a unique cellular phenotype. The patient was a 71-year-old Japanese man with rheumatoid arthritis treated with MTX for 6 years. He was referred to our department with a 6-month history of red plaques and ulcerated lesions in both lower legs and a 2-week history of high fever and fatigue. Cutaneous specimens showed that medium-sized atypical lymphocytes were positive for CD3, CD4, CD30, CD56, and in situ hybridization for EBV-encoded RNA. The patient was diagnosed with cutaneous MTX T-LPD. Four months after discontinuation of MTX, the skin lesions had disappeared. This is the first report of cutaneous MTX T-LPD with CD4+CD30+CD56+EBV+ tumor cells.

Early initiation of plasma exchange therapy for a patient with anti-MDA5 autoantibody-positive dermatomyositis developing rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease.

Dermatomyositis (DM) is a categorised as one of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) indicated by symmetrical proximal muscle weakness as well as characteristic cutaneous manifestations typical of DM. Clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM), a subtype of DM, shows only the skin involvement without any clinical signs of myositis. This condition is often associated with fatal anti-MDA5 antibody-positive rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD), especially in Eastern Asian populations. Here, we report a CADM patient with anti-MDA5 antibody-positive RP-ILD whom we successfully treated by early initiation of plasma exchange (PE) together with multiple immunosuppressive therapies. In this patient, initial treatment with high-dose prednisolone (PSL), tacrolimus and intermittent intravenous cyclophosphamide had resulted in no obvious improvement in the respiratory condition. Therefore, soon after the first evaluation, we initiated PE therapy in addition to these multiple immunosuppressive therapies. Although the patient had pneumomediastinum, cytomegalovirus and fungal infections over the clinical course, RP-ILD did gradually improved and the anti-MDA5 titre decreased down to within the normal range paralleled by improvement in the patient's respiratory condition.

Clinical Utility of Neutrophil CD64 to Detect Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis in Three Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Undergoing Treatment with Biologics.

Biologics play a key role in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), while RA-related serious infection remains an unsettled clinical problem. Detection of tuberculosis (TB) is challenging due to the difficulty in distinguishing symptoms such as fever and elevation of inflammatory markers from other infections or a disease flare of RA. The expression of the CD64 molecule on neutrophils (neutrophil CD64) was upregulated by various infections including TB. However, it was not affected by disease activity of RA or by any therapy against RA. The present article reports three cases of extrapulmonary TB which occurred in patients with RA undergoing treatment with biologics. The marked increase in the levels of neutrophil CD64 may provide important insight into the diagnosis of TB.

Incidence and Risk Factors for Infections Requiring Hospitalization, Including Pneumocystis Pneumonia, in Japanese Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may be complicated by different infections, but risk factors for these are not fully elucidated. Here, we assessed the incidence of and risk factors for infections requiring hospitalization (IRH) including pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in patients with RA. METHODS: We retrospectively surveyed all RA patients treated at our hospital from 2009 to 2013, for whom data were available on demographic features, medications, comorbidities, and severity of RA. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for factors associated with the occurrence of IRH. RESULTS: In a total of 9210 patient-years (2688 patients), there were 373 IRH (3.7/100 patient-years). Respiratory tract infections were most frequent (n = 154, and additionally 16 PCP), followed by urinary tract infections (n = 50). Significant factors for PCP included higher age (≥70 years; OR 3.5), male sex (6.6), underlying lung disease (3.0), use of corticosteroids (4.8), and use of biologics (5.4). Use of methotrexate (5.7) was positively associated with PCP but negatively with total infections (0.7). Additionally, functional disorders and higher RA disease activity were also related to total infections. CONCLUSIONS: Risk factors for infection should be taken into account when deciding treatment for the individual RA patient.

Fatal complication of Legionella pneumophila pneumonia in a tocilizumab-treated rheumatoid arthritis patient.

We herein report a fatal case of Legionella pneumophila pneumonia in a tocilizumab-treated rheumatoid arthritis patient who was in a state of shock on admission but remained afebrile even during severe pneumonia. Legionella antigen was detected in the urine and neutrophil CD64 expression was highly elevated. Despite undergoing intensive treatment, the patient developed sepsis and died 12 days after admission. An autopsy indicated that while the Legionella infection had almost been controlled, a subarachnoid hemorrhage was the ultimate cause of death.

A case of sarcoidosis with interstitial lung disease mimicking clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis and rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease.

Here, we report a patient with sarcoidosis who developed edematous erythema and interstitial lung disease. At the initial visit, clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM) with rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD) was suspected because he had progressive dyspnea but no muscle weakness. The presence of anti-CADM-140/MDA5 autoantibodies was immediately assessed to facilitate a precise diagnosis, with negative results. Thereafter, skin and transbronchial lung biopsies revealed noncaseating granuloma with Langhans giant cells in both specimens, leading to a diagnosis of sarcoidosis. In this case, clinical features of skin and lung were unable to distinguish DM (including CADM) from sarcoidosis, but the lack of anti-CADM-140/MDA5 antibody was useful for differentiating CADM with RP-ILD mimicking sarcoidosis from bona fide sarcoidosis.

A case of rheumatoid arthritis and limited systemic sclerosis overlap successfully treated with tocilizumab for arthritis and concomitant generalized lymphadenopathy and primary biliary cirrhosis.

A 57-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and limited systemic sclerosis (lSSc) was suspected to have lymphadenopathy and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Lymph node biopsy showed reactive follicular lymphadenopathy with intrafollicular plasmacyte infiltration that was interleukin-6 positive by immunohistostaining. Because of gradually worsening arthritis, tocilizumab was administered and arthritis improved markedly. Interestingly, lymphadenopathy and PBC improved simultaneously. This suggested that interleukin-6 might play an important role in reactive lymphadenopathy and PBC associated with RA/lSSc.

Case of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's granulomatosis) manifested with asymptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage.

A 46-year-old man, who had had sinusitis, developed bilateral omalgia, petechiae on his lower extremities and a congested right eye. A blood test detected elevated serum C-reactive protein level. Computed tomography incidentally found an acute lesion of thalamic hemorrhage without neurological symptoms and no specific therapy was given at the time. Thereafter, he developed vertigo, vomiting and pneumonia for which antibiotics were ineffective. He was referred and admitted to our hospital. Further, aural and renal lesions, and presence of serum proteinase 3-antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (PR3-ANCA) confirmed his diagnosis of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's) (GPA). With corticosteroid and cyclophosphamide therapy, his symptoms disappeared in two months along with faded PR3-ANCA. Afterward he showed neither new cerebral lesion nor symptom. This is a rare case of GPA manifested with asymptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage. It should be noted that GPA could cause various manifestations in central nervous system such as a fatal or an asymptomatic hemorrhagic lesion, which might respond to immunosuppressive therapy.

[Case of immunosuppressant-resistant amyopathic dermatomyositis with rapidly progressive interstitial pneumonia ameliorated after resection of gastric cancer].

A 59-year old woman had been suffering from myalgia, eruption and dyspnea on effort for a month. She was referred to our hospital because her symptoms were not improved by antibiotic therapy at a clinic. At first presentation she showed cutaneous manifestations including heliotrope eyelids and mechanic's hands, slightly elevated serum creatine kinase (CK), elevated serum C-reactive protein level, and interstitial pneumonia (IP), which led to a diagnosis as dermatomyositis. After admission to our hospital, her hypoxia due to IP progressed despite disappeared myalgia and normalized serum CK level. Intravenous steroid pulse therapy followed by oral cyclosporine and intravenous cyclophosphamide pulse therapy was not effective for the IP for more than a month. Gastroscopy revealed superficial depressed (0-IIc) type early gastric cancer. However, it was out of indication for endoscopic mucosal resection because of the histopathologic type (signet ring cell carcinoma) and possible submucosal invasion. In addition to those immunosuppressive therapies, proximal gastrectomy with total intravenous anesthesia was performed. One month after the operation, improvement of IP as well as cutaneous manifestations was confirmed by respiratory function test, pulmonary computed tomography, and discontinuance of oxygen inhalation. We conclude that this was a case of clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis with rapidly progressive IP and gastric cancer, which was ameliorated by a combination of medication (steroid, cyclosporine, and cyclophosphamide) and surgery (gastrectomy for early gastric cancer).