Single‐cell profiling of muscle‐infiltrating T cells in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) are rare autoimmune systemic diseases characterized by muscle weakness and the presence of muscle‐infiltrating T cells. IIM represent a clinical challenge due to heterogeneity of symptoms and variability of response to immunosuppressive treatment. Here, we performed in‐depth single‐cell sequencing on muscle‐infiltrating T cells and peripheral blood memory T cells in six patients with recently diagnosed IIM. We identified tissue resident memory T‐cell (T(RM)) signatures including the expression of HOBIT, XCL1 and CXCR6 in the muscle biopsies of all patients with IIM. Clonally expanded T‐cell clones were mainly found among cytotoxic and T(RM) implying their role in the disease pathogenesis. Finally, identical expanded T‐cell clones persisting at follow‐up in the muscle tissue of two patients suggest their involvement in disease chronicity. Our study reveals a muscle tissue resident memory T‐cell signature in patients with IIM and a transcriptomic map to identify novel therapeutic targets in IIM.