Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Analyses of Proteinuria, Renal Infiltration of Leukocytes, and Renal Deposition of Proteins in Lupus-prone MRL/lpr Mice
Published on: June 8, 2022
Genetic risk factors in lupus nephritis and IgA nephropathy--no support of an overlap
Mai Tuyet Vuong1, Iva Gunnarsson, Sigrid Lundberg
1Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. maituyetvuong@gmail.com
Background:
IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and nephritis in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) are two common forms of glomerulonephritis in which genetic findings are of importance for disease development. We have recently reported an association of IgAN with variants of TGFB1. In several autoimmune diseases, particularly in SLE, IRF5, STAT4 genes and TRAF1-C5 locus have been shown to be important candidate genes. The aim of this study was to compare genetic variants from the TGFB1, IRF5, STAT4 genes and TRAF1-C5 locus with susceptibility to IgAN and lupus nephritis in two Swedish cohorts.
Patients And Methods:
We genotyped 13 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in four genetic loci in 1252 DNA samples from patients with biopsy proven IgAN or with SLE (with and without nephritis) and healthy age- and sex-matched controls from the same population in Sweden.
Results:
Genotype and allelic frequencies for SNPs from selected genes did not differ significantly between lupus nephritis patients and SLE patients without nephritis. In addition, haplotype analysis for seven selected SNPs did not reveal a difference for the SLE patient groups with and without nephritis. Moreover, none of these SPNs showed a significant difference between IgAN patients and healthy controls. IRF5 and STAT4 variants remained significantly different between SLE cases and healthy controls. In addition, the data did not show an association of TRAF1-C5 polymorphism with susceptibility to SLE in this Swedish population.
Conclusion:
Our data do not support an overlap in genetic susceptibility between patients with IgAN or SLE and reveal no specific importance of SLE associated SNPs for the presence of lupus nephritis.
Related Concept Videos
Nephrotic Syndrome I : Introduction
Autoimmune Disorders
Concept and Mechanism of Autoimmune Diseases
The immune system...
Genome-wide Association Studies-GWAS
GWAS does not require the identification of the target gene involved in...
Acute Kidney Injury II: Pathophysiology
Nephrotic Syndrome II : Assessment and Medical Management
Acute Kidney Injury IV: Diagnostic Studies and Prevention