Finding better treatments for lupus nephritis requires an understanding of the pathogenesis of the causative systemic disease, how this leads to kidney disease, and how lupus nephritis progresses to end-stage kidney disease. Here, we provide a brief conceptual overview on the related pathomechanisms. As a main focus we discuss in detail the roles of neutrophils, dendritic cells, Toll-like receptors, and interferon-α in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis by separately reviewing their roles in extrarenal systemic autoimmunity and in intrarenal inflammation and immunopathology.
Keywords: Immune complex; antiviral; glomerulonephritis; innate immunity; therapy.
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