HLA-DQA1 and systemic lupus erythematosus: The above functional evidence, taken together, highlighted the significance of 14 SLE-associated SNPs, i.e., the first 14 SNPs listed in Table 1, as these SNPs serve as cis-effect regulators of four SLE-associated genes (HLA-DQA1, HLA-DQB1, HLA-DQB2, and IRF5), which also were differentially expressed in SLE-related cell groups.