Therefore, the increasing level of Parabacteroides has been previously positively correlated with inflammatory cytokines involved in SLE pathogenesis such as IL-17, IL-21, IL-2R, TWEAK, IL-35, IL-10, and IFN-γ (12) suggesting that these bacteria may play a pro-inflammatory role in stimulating immune factors. Here, TNFSF12 is linked to systemic lupus erythematosus.