C3 and lupus nephritis: NZM2328 is a spontaneous SLE-prone murine strain that has been extensively used in lupus research.57–59 We found that a sodium chloride-rich diet increased the level of anti-dsDNA autoantibodies in NZM2328 mice (Fig. 1f), as well as the pathological changes in lupus nephritis, as manifested by IgG and C3 deposition (Fig. 1g).