Recently, we demonstrated that short mtDNA fragments, corresponding to a region within the D-loop, crossed the OMM and were released into the cytosol via the oligomerized VDAC1 channel and then triggered type-Ι interferon signaling and increased disease severity in a systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) mouse model [87]. Here, VDAC1 is linked to systemic lupus erythematosus.