SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the formation of antibodies directed against an arrayof auto-antigens. Any organ in the body may be affected. The most common cause ofdeath is renal failure, limiting the five-year survival rate to 77% ofpatients.'The pathogenetic mechanism responsible for lupus nephritis is still not fully known. Research into the pathogenesis ofSLE has been hampered by sparsity of well-defined animal models. Themost widely ac-cepted models are the spontaneous murine models (eg, NZB/W, MLR). 2 In these mouse strains, an SLE-like syndrome develops spontaneously and at a late life onset. Therefore, these models are not easy to manipulate experimentally, and their use is relatively time-consuming. The need for less time-consuming, inducible models exists.