LCN2 and lupus nephritis: While some studies have identified LCN2 as a potential biomarker for human lupus nephritis (44–46), to the best of our knowledge, the only previous study on the effect of LCN2 in MRL/lpr mice involved the injection of anti-LCN2 antibodies or LCN2 recombinant protein and examining the effects on renal disease in this strain (47).