Recent advances in the treatment of lupus nephritis

As the most common secondary immune glomerulonephritis in mainland China, lupus nephritis(LN) is a common and serious complication of systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE). It is also an important cause of acute kidney injury and end-stage renal disease(ESRD). Its clinical manifestations of organ injuries are diverse so as to seriously threaten patient health and imperil quality-of-life. The major treatment goal of LN is to control the disease and avoid progression into chronic kidney disease (CKD). Patients are not only concerned about the effectiveness of drug treatments for LN, but also pursue the minimization of drug toxicity. With the continuous in-depth pathogenetic understanding of LN, people are committed to searching for novel pathogenic targets, biomarkers, treatments and precise controls. Biological preparations of molecular targets have received much attention. More and more novel immunosuppressive agents are applied clinically. Traditional sequential therapy is gradually transformed into combination therapy so that more treatment options are available for LN patients.