Besides, compared with healthy controls, higher expression level of ATG5 was observed in PBMC, tubulointerstitial, and glomeruli samples of SLE patients, and the correlation between the positive trans-eSNPs and ATG5 expression level was validated in 270 unrelated HapMap individuals, suggesting the potential role of these loci in the pathogenesis of LN through perturbing the expression of ATG5. This evidence concerns the gene ATG5 and systemic lupus erythematosus.