Already two decades ago, a study in two genetic models of chronic renal injury and fibrosis—mice deficient in the α3-chain of collagen IV, as well as MRL/MpJlpr/lpr lupus mice—demonstrated that treatment with recombinant human BMP-7 (rhBMP-7) improved renal function and survival (Zeisberg et al. 2003). This evidence concerns the gene BMP7 and systemic lupus erythematosus.