HLA variation analysis and autoantigen epitope prediction in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies

In the anti-Mi2 subgroup, we identified novel HLA alleles, amino-acid variants, and immunogenic epitopes, supporting a role for HLA-restricted antigen presentation in disease pathogenesis and indicating candidate targets for antigen-specific immunotherapy. However, the HLA/epitope findings related to anti-Mi2 are exploratory due to limited power, and require confirmation in larger cohorts together with experimental validation.