The Role of Anti-DNA Antibodies in the Development of Lupus Nephritis: A Complementary, or Alternative, Viewpoint?

Kidney disease, or lupus nephritis, is the organ involvement that is most closely associated with specific autoantibodies in patients with SLE. The concept of anti-DNA antibodies being instrumental in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis emerged ~50 years ago, and has been a topic of debate ever since. This article focuses on the description of the renal sub-cellular targets of nephritogenic autoantibodies and offers a counter-point opinion to the article by Pedersen et al. In addition, we provide an overview of some of the mechanisms by which anti-DNA antibodies bind to their renal targets and the pathogenic relevance to clinical nephritis.