Abstract: To explore the relationship between the expressions of interferon regulatory factor 7 (IRF7) and the pathogenesis of SLE in Chinese Han cohort, the IRF7 mRNA expression levels in peripheral blood of patients and normal individuals were tested by using realtime quantitative PCR technique, and then were compared with the IFN level in serum, IFN score and SLEDAI score. It is demonstrated that the expression level of IRF7 mRNA in SLE patients is significantly increased, and is positively correlated with the IFN level in serum, IFN score and SLEDAI score. So it is concluded that the increase of IRF7 expression may excessively activate the interferon pathway and lead to SLE.

Key words: interferon regulation factor 7, expression, systemic lupus erythematosus, interferon regulation factor 7, expression