Small nucleotide polymorphisms located in intronic sequences of FAM19A2 have been associated with elevated risk for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in genome-wide association studies (57); deletion of the intronic regions of this gene might therefore provide insights into the causes of these diseases. The gene discussed is TAFA2; the disease is systemic lupus erythematosus.