Abstract
T cells of both the CD4 and CD8 lineage are commonly found in affected tissues of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, but understanding the contribution of these cells to immunopathogenesis remains challenging. Given recent advances in identifying more myositis-associated autoantibodies and their putative targets, we suggest that studies on autoreactive T cells targeting those autoantigens are one way forward. Another (so far, more frequently used) approach comes from studies on effector T cells in the context of myositis. This review summarizes recent advances and current hypotheses in both of these contexts.
Highlights
Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs), known as myositis, are a group of rheumatic disorders clinically characterized by muscle weakness, leading to disability, decreased quality of life, and a reduced life expectancy
Some patients display more than one rheumatic diagnosis, and systemic sclerosis is the most common connective tissue disease associated with IIM [7]
Additional chemokines are interesting in this context, such as CCL3 and CCL4, which are chemoattractants for macrophages and T cells, and CCL3 is a potent regulator of Th1-committed T cells
Summary
Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs), known as myositis, are a group of rheumatic disorders clinically characterized by muscle weakness, leading to disability, decreased quality of life, and a reduced life expectancy This is a relatively rare disease, our understanding of risk factors and the underlying immunopathogenesis has increased substantially in recent years. Myositis shares many features with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, namely as different examples of disabling chronic inflammatory syndromes, which can be reevaluated in the light of distinct genetic and environmental contributions [4] Common traits between these rheumatic disorders include a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II association, inflammatory cell infiltrates in affected tissues, and the presence of predictive or disease activity-associated autoantibodies (or both). CCL2 is a chemoattractant for CCR2- and CCR4-expressing cells, Memory T cells (CD4+, Th1 CD8+) cells
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