Results from the same Swedish cohort indicated that increased levels of IP-10 (interferon gamma induced protein 10) and inter-feron-a (IFN-a) are evident in SLE patients at pre-clinical stage.113 Indeed, recent evidence demonstrate that IFN-α might potentially serve as a surrogate marker for the transition from the pre-clinical stage to established SLE, and validation studies are currently in progress. The gene discussed is IFNA1; the disease is systemic lupus erythematosus.