STAT4 and systemic lupus erythematosus: Moreover, recent identification of lupus risk factor genes with functions in interferon responses (Graham et al. 2007) and as more general mediators of innate immune signaling, as in the case of STAT4 (Remmers et al. 2007), suggests that innate immune pathways subject to environmental influences in addition to TLRs may prove to be relevant to lupus pathogenesis.