title: Pathogenic role of anti-C1q autoantibodies in the development of lupus nephritis--a hypothesis.
abstract: A substantial proportion of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) develop renal inflammatory disease, so-called lupus nephritis (LN). LN is a severe complication of SLE which is strongly associated with the presence of autoantibodies against C1q, the first component of the complement system, and other self-antigens (i.e. against DNA and nucleosomes) as well. In this review, the authors focus on anti-C1q autoantibodies and interpret the available data in order to explain how LN may develop and how anti-C1q autoantibodies contribute to its pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Leiden University Medical Center, Department of Nephrology, D3-P, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands. r.flierman@lumc.nl
authors.forename: Roelof
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Flierman
authors.forename: Mohamed R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Daha
mesh_terms: D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D015922:Complement C1q / Q000276:immunology*; D004247:DNA / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008181:Lupus Nephritis / Q000209:etiology*; D009707:Nucleosomes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D009707:Nucleosomes; D015922:Complement C1q; D004247:DNA