Importance: Familial chilblain lupus is a monogenic autosomal dominant form of cutaneous lupus erythematosus that in most cases is caused by mutations in the 3 prime repair exonuclease 1 (TREX1). Familial chilblain lupus presents in early childhood with cold-induced painful erythematous infiltrates leading to mutilation and is associated with systemic involvement illustrated by an elevated type I interferon (IFN) signature in the skin and blood. Effective treatment is currently not available.
Objectives: To evaluate the clinical response to the Janus kinase inhibitor baricitinib in familial chilblain lupus and assess the effect of cold on patient fibroblasts.
Design, setting, and participants: In this case series, 3 patients with familial chilblain lupus due to TREX1 mutation underwent treatment with baricitinib for 3 months.
Interventions: Doses of baricitinib, 4 mg, were administered daily for 3 months.
Main outcomes and measures: Reduction of cutaneous lupus lesions was measured by the revised cutaneous lupus area and severity index, pain due to skin and joint involvement was assessed by visual analog scale, type I IFN signature in blood was determined by polymerase chain reaction, and the in vitro response of fibroblasts to cold exposure was analyzed.
Results: All 3 patients (2 women and 1 man; mean [SD] age, 51 [24] years) showed a significant improvement of cutaneous lupus lesions with suppression of systemic type I IFN activation. One patient had a complete remission regarding pain and, in 2 patients, pain associated with joint inflammation was partially reduced. No severe adverse reactions were reported. Exposure of patient fibroblasts to cold induced a stress response and enhanced senescence along with induction of IFN-stimulated gene in vitro.
Conclusions and relevance: These findings demonstrate the therapeutic efficacy of Janus kinase inhibition in a monogenic form of lupus among 3 patients and provide mechanistic insight into the process of disease exacerbation by cold in TREX1-deficient cells. This finding may be relevant to other type I IFN-mediated disorders and implicates Janus kinase inhibition as a potential therapeutic option also for multifactorial cutaneous lupus erythematosus.