IRF5 and systemic lupus erythematosus: Therefore, it may be concluded from the present study that STAT4 gene polymorphisms feature more prominently as the genetic risk factors in the Malaysian SLE rather than those polymorphisms in TNFAIP3 and IRF5. Rs10168266 which is located in intron 5 of STAT4 gene has been frequently related to SLE susceptibility in the Asian population, particularly in Korean population, and also in the European population [6, 23–25, 30].