HLA-C and systemic lupus erythematosus: Numerous genomic studies have also highlighted the polymorphisms of various genes at different loci, in particular the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) which encodes the human leukocyte antigen (HLA), cytokines, complement proteins, and immunoglobulin-associated receptor genes and other gene variants that are predisposed to SLE (14–17).