In order to better elucidate the involvement of IL-23 in the IL-23/IL-17 autoinflammatory axis and the immunopathological mechanisms of the activation of Th17 cells in SLE, Wong et al. have used IL-23 as an activating agent to demonstrate the direct involvement of IL-23 in the IL-23/IL17 inflammatory axis. Here, IL17A is linked to systemic lupus erythematosus.