IL-15 enhanced CD69 expression of α-GalCer treated iNKT cells from SLE patients (41.4±4.6% vs. 17.2±2.7%, p = 0.001) as well as controls (51.1±6.5% vs. 26.6±3.8%, p = 0.005) (Fig 5A). This evidence concerns the gene CD69 and systemic lupus erythematosus.