In diabetic kidney disease, albuminuria also increased during the progression of the disease and Gal-9 may be actively filtered through glomerular basement membranes; however, serum Gal-9 levels did not negatively correlate with urinary albumin excretion and serum Gal-9 levels were not altered in the progression of albuminuria stages from A1 to A3. The gene discussed is LGALS9; the disease is diabetic kidney disease.