When we did a subgroup correlation analysis, in active SLE patients without renal involvement, no positive correlation between urinary ALCAM and global disease activity was seen (data not shown), while in the active LN group, there was a significant positive correlation, indicating that the positive correlation between urinary ALCAM and SLEDAI is likely due to the renal components of the SLEDAI score. This evidence concerns the gene ALCAM and systemic lupus erythematosus.