DNMT1 and systemic lupus erythematosus: Later studies demonstrated that a diet deficient in methyl donors could increase anti-DNA antibody levels and severity of lupus nephritis in a murine lupus model in which lupus flares are caused by selectively decreasing Dnmt1 levels in T cells, while a diet supplemented with methyl donors decreased anti-DNA antibody levels and the severity of the nephritis (Figure 3) [35].