Kruppel-like factor4 regulates expression through binding to an autoimmune risk allele.

A SNP identified as rs548234, which is found in , the gene that encodes BLIMP1, is a risk allele associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). BLIMP1 expression was reported to be decreased in women with the rs548234 risk allele compared with women with the nonrisk allele in monocyte-derived DCs (MO-DCs). In this study, we demonstrate that BLIMP1 expression is regulated by the binding of Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) to the risk SNP.