The proportion of naïve CD4+ T cells (T4N), naïve CD8+ T cells (T8N), CD38+CD4+ T cells and CD38+CD8+ T cells were much higher (T4N P = 0.0002; T8N, P = 0.0022; CD38+CD4+ T cells, P < 0.0001; CD38+CD8+ T cells, P = 0.0023), whereas the proportion of central memory CD4+ T cells (T4CM) and T8CM cells were lower in MDA5+ DM patients than in HCs (T4CM, P = 0.0010; T8CM, P < 0.0001). Here, CD8A is linked to dermatomyositis.