Dysregulated IL-6 pathway activity in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies
Authors' conclusion
IIM is characterised by enhanced systemic IL-6 pathway activity that is not explained by circulating IL-6 levels alone but rather reflects a dysregulated cytokine milieu.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) and healthy controls; skeletal muscle transcriptomic data and serum samples
- Participants
- 51 vs 32
- Comparison
- IIM vs healthy controls
- IIMn = 51
- Controlsn = 32reference
- Outcome
- IL-6 pathway activity (muscle transcriptomics; serum IL-6, sIL-6R, anti-IL-6 autoantibodies by ELISA; serum IL-6 signalling by reporter gene assay)
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
IL-6 pathway activity in IIM vs controls
- Enrichment of IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signalling in IIM muscle tissue across disease subtypes
- Serum IL-6 levels increased in IIM
- sIL-6R concentrations comparable to controls
- Anti-IL-6 autoantibody levels reduced, particularly in DM
- Serum from IIM induced markedly increased IL-6 signalling activity in the reporter gene assay (RGA) vs controls; independent of endogenous IL-6 concentrations and persisted in treated patients
Further findings
Anti-IL-6 autoantibody properties
- Moderate-to-high avidity and neutralising capacity in vitro
IL-6 signalling activity and muscle strength in newly diagnosed patients
- Negative association trend
Original publication
Dysregulated IL-6 pathway activity in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. Arthritis Res Ther. Published 21 July 2026. doi:10.
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