CSF3 and systemic lupus erythematosus: Since a coding polymorphism in the gene encoding G-CSF-R is the top candidate for the genetic underpinning of this suppression (15, 17), we hypothesized that an altered G-CSF pathway in myeloid cells expressing the NZB allele of G-CSF-R was responsible for the suppression in the cGVHD-induced model of lupus.