IRF9 and autoimmune disease: For example, around 25% (n = 262) of GWAS SNPs associated with autoimmune diseases residing within the DNase hypersensitive sites in immune cells altered the TF binding motif for the IRF9 pathway.45 The IRF9 network along with the Jak/Stat cascade are initiated in the presence of interferon‐γ, pointing towards a potentially important role for this pathway in the development of autoimmunity.