Limitations in our study include: (i) The participation and/or dysregulation of lncRNAs in SLE pathogenesis are needed to be investigated in specific organs and cell types, (ii) The population of enrolled patients was relatively small, so we need a larger sample size to verify our results, (ii) further studies are needed to be conducted on different ethnic groups, (iii) More investigations are required to define the exact molecular mechanisms by which lncRNA-Cox2 and HOTAIR are involved in SLE pathogenesis. This evidence concerns the gene HOTAIR and systemic lupus erythematosus.