In this context, a plethora of literature suggest opposing roles for estrogens and BMP-7, which—given the known anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic role of BMP-7 (Narasimhulu and Singla 2020; Ollewagen et al. 2022)—may explain the female predominance of not only SLE, but chronic inflammatory conditions in general. This evidence concerns the gene BMP7 and systemic lupus erythematosus.