In autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, deletion of TLR9 led to exacerbation of the disease [37], CpG ODN decreased I/R-induced infarct size and improved cardiac function following myocardial I/R [38], and finally Koulis et al. showed a protective role for TLR9 in atherosclerosis [10]. This evidence concerns the gene TLR9 and autoimmune disease.