Regarding the expression of FOXP3 mRNA, we showed that there was a significant difference between normal BALB/c compared to the SLE model group (8.80 vs. 7.17-fold change; mean difference -1.63; 95% CI 2.17 – 1.09; p<0.001). The gene discussed is FOXP3; the disease is systemic lupus erythematosus.