Figure - PMC

Skip to main content

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

View full-text article in PMC

. 2026 Oct 8;13:1965501. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2026.1965501

Search in PMC
Search in PubMed
View in NLM Catalog
Add to search

© 2026 Jia, Yu, Xue, Pan, Jiang and Zhang.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

PMC Copyright notice

Diagram illustrating the roles of BAFF and APRIL in B cell maturation, differentiation, and interactions with CD4+ T cells, leading to antibody production linked to IgA nephropathy, lupus nephritis, and primary membranous nephropathy. — Mechanism of BAFF/APRIL-induced autoimmune nephropathy: BAFF and APRIL form soluble trimers following cleavage by furin; through differential binding to BAFF-R, TACI, and BCMA receptors, they regulate B-cell survival, maturation, and differentiation. Concurrently, BAFF can directly activate CD4⁺ T cells, promote Tfh differentiation, and upregulate the Th1/Th2 and Th17/Treg ratios, thereby further enhancing the survival, differentiation, and antibody production of autoreactive B cells. It is involved in the pathogenesis of immune complex-associated nephropathies such as IgA nephropathy, lupus nephritis, and primary membranous nephropathy. Created with BioRender.