The pathophysiology of inclusion body myositis (IBM) remains poorly understood. Against this background, American researchers have put forward some new hypotheses:
- their study looked at muscle biopsies from 38 patients with IBM and 22 healthy individuals matched for age and gender,
- several complementary approaches were used (transcript study, immunological profile, immunocytochemistry and Western blot, etc.),
- the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway appears to be over-activated in IBM patients,
- increased immunoreactivity towards NLRP3 is observed in inflammatory cells and muscle fibres,
- mitophagic phenomena are also present.
The authors note that these phenomena (mitophagy and inflammasome activation) are more marked in men.
