Fig. 4

a Comparison of plasma hsa-miR-4442 expression between active PM/DM and RA, SLE, and healthy individuals using qRT-PCR. The expression of hsa-miR-4442 was significantly higher in PM/DM compared to RA, SLE, or healthy controls (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001, respectively). b, c Quantitative RT-PCR was performed to confirm the differential expression of has-miR-4442 in plasma of before (active)/after treatment (inactive) RA and SLE patients. There was no statistically significant difference in either patient. PM/DM: polymyositis and dermatomyositis (n = 10); RA: rheumatoid arthritis (n = 10); SLE: systemic lupus erythematosus (n = 12); HC: healthy control (n = 10)