For instance, in cases of HIV and malaria, these cells have been characterised as having an exhausted phenotype,19,20 while in cases of SLE they are poised to become antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) in response to TLR7 ligands and the cytokines IFN-γ and IL-21,13 and are considered to be the direct source of ASCs and serum autoantibodies during disease’s flares.13, 21–23 Such a differing and condition-dependent functionality of DN B cells, probably can be justified by the heterogeneity of the DN population. Here, TLR7 is linked to systemic lupus erythematosus.