A case of interstitial lung disease with anti-EJ and anti-CCP antibodies preceding rheumatoid arthritis

Autoantibodies against aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARSs) are highly specific for myositis and/or interstitial lung disease. We report a rare case of double positive antibodies (anti-EJ antibody, the least common among anti-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase antibodies, and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody, reported to be specific for rheumatoid arthritis) in a patient who presented with interstitial lung disease and later developed rheumatoid arthritis. The patient did not have clinically apparent myositis over a period of careful follow-up of several years. The initial pulmonary pathologic findings showed a nonspecific interstitial pneumonia pattern, with the formation of lymphoid follicles, which should be recognized as the first manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis. (C) 2012 The Japanese Respiratory Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.