Fig. 6.

CeNP-PEG reverses the renal fibrosis by blocking the dysregulated metabolic status, in which OXPHOS switches to the aerobic glycolytic program. In normal conditions, renal epithelial cells prefer OXPHOS for energy supply. During the EMT process, TGF-β1 induces the metabolic reprogramming in renal epithelial cells, and takes glycolytic metabolism as the priority to OXPHOS. Furthermore, CeNP-PEG can block this through the suppression of HK1 and HK2 during the EMT process, exerting the protective function in the progress of kidney fibrosis