Table 2.

Key factors and pathways in the pathogenesis of diabetic kidney disease

Haemodynamic
Prostanoids	Nitric oxide
Renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)
Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1
Metabolic
Glucose transporters: GLUT-1, GLUT-4, glucokinase/hexokinase.
Advanced glycation end products and their receptors
Aldose reductase	Protein kinase C
Diacylglyerol	UDP-N-acetylglucosamine
NADPH oxido-reductase	Oxidative stress
TGF-β–Smad–mitogen-activated protein kinase (TGF-β–Smad–MAPK)
Janus kinase–signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT)
Growth factors
VEGF	TGF-β1	Connective tissue growth factor
Inflammation
Chemokines: monocyte chemoattractant protein-1
Adhesion molecules: intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1).
Inflammatory cytokines: interleukin-1, -6, -18, and tumour necrosis factor-α
Transcription factors: nuclear transcription factor κ-B (NF-κB)