IRF5 and systemic lupus erythematosus: The aim of this study was to use a combination of molecular cloning and next-generation sequencing technologies to obtain sufficient coverage depth in primary immune cells of SLE patients and healthy donors to clearly determine 1) whether SLE patients express an IRF5 transcript signature that is distinct from healthy donors, and 2) whether an IRF5-SLE risk haplotype determines the IRF5 transcript signature, thus controlling and/or contributing to the global pathologic function(s) of IRF5 in SLE.