Understanding, monitoring, and predicting interferon-driven inflammation in juvenile dermatomyositis

Summary

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Juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) is a highly heterogeneous disease, both in clinical presentation and disease course. Despite current treatment regimens, a significant proportion of patients experience inadequate disease control. This thesis integrates biomarker discovery, longitudinal analyses, and mechanistic studies to advance personalised care for JDM. Galectin-9 and CXCL10 emerge as strong predictors of disease flares, while Siglec-1 provides insight into early disease activity and may serve as a biomarker for patient stratification. In vitro findings indicate a prominent role for IFN-β and suggest that selective JAK inhibition can differentially modulate pathogenic IFN signalling. Together, these findings support the integration of biomarker-informed decision-making into clinical practice, representing a critical step towards personalised, mechanism-based therapy in JDM.