Rapid advances in proteomic technology have led to the identification of several novel protein biomarkers related to both SLE and lupus nephritis (LN); these include monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) (Marks et al., 2010), the tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer (TWEAK) (Schwartz, Michaelson & Putterman, 2007), transferrin (Suzuki et al., 2007), various interleukins and TNF-α (Almoallim et al., 2012) proteins. Here, TF is linked to systemic lupus erythematosus.