At least 50% of all patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) will manifest kidney involvement, or lupus nephritis (LN), in the course of the disease.1 Long-term outcomes in LN have clearly improved. Before 1980, kidney survival at 5 years was as low as 20%, whereas modern treatments have improved this rate to 80%.2,3 Current standard induction and maintenance therapy regimens in LN are based on cyclophosphamide-azathioprine or mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in induction and maintenance,4,5 high-dose glucocorticoid pulses during induction followed by oral prednisone tapers, and nonimmunomodulatory agents such as hydroxychloroquine and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers.