Fine-mapping of the TLR7-TLR8 region with high-density genetic markers based on large scale genotyping and imputation confirmed SNP rs3853839 at TLR7 3′UTR as the most likely causal variant responsible for the association of TLR7-TLR8 region with SLE in populations of EA, AA and HS ancestry. This evidence concerns the gene TLR8 and systemic lupus erythematosus.