In addition, impairment of TRIM21 ubiquitination activity may also lead to the production of anti-TRIM21 antibodies, which may result in relevant cellular dysfunction in the body, followed by apoptosis that exposes TRIM21 to the cell surface and induces a stronger immune response leading to autoimmune diseases such as CTD-ILD, (Figure 6). This evidence concerns the gene TRIM21 and autoimmune disease.