ATG5 and systemic lupus erythematosus: In addition, rs6568431 has been reported to be associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in multiple studies [35–37], and it has an A > C allele and is situated in the intronic region of ATG5. ATG5 is a gene that plays a major role in autophagy and is also strongly associated with SLE [38, 39].