•Unknown

•Production of autoimmune antibodies to many self antigens especially antinuclear antibodies.

•Production of antibodies to kidney antigens plus the accumulation of circulating immune complexes in the glomeruli lead to renal injury.

•SLE is predominantly a disease affecting women, although it can occur in men.

•Female to male ratio 9:1.

•Usual initial presentation in the 2nd and 3rd decades of life.

•The renal manifestations can be nephrotic syndrome, nephritic syndrome, acute renal failure, and chronic renal failure. The renal manifestations can be in seen in varying combinations with disease activity of other organ systems.

•The gross features of the kidney is dependent on the severity and chronicity of the lupus nephritis.

•In the kidney, the glomeruli are most frequently affected, generally showing a proliferative/necrotizing glomerulonephritis.

•Other compartments of the kidney however can also be affected (tubules, interstitium, blood vessels.

• Cotran RS, Kumar V, Robbins SL: Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease. 5th ed. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders, 1994, pp. pp 199-208.

•Rose B. Renal Pathophysiology the essentials. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1994, Ch.9

• Current literature from PubMed at National Library of Medicine