Three new techniques are presently being developed in the lab in animal models. For example, there is a mouse with lupus called an NZB mouse. These are animals that actually develop lupus on their own, they are not induced with the disease. Much of the research on lupus has come from studies of these animals that actually develop lupus. We have long known that patients with lupus make antibodies.
Antibodies are proteins that circulate in the body and defend the body from harm.
They eliminate bacteria, viruses and any foreign elements that come into the body. Antibodies are made by cells called B Cells. They produce antibodies, and those antibodies normally eliminate the foreign bodies. In lupus the antibodies attack the body's own tissue. These antibodies are termed autoantibodies.