ATG5 and lobular neoplasia: 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.