In the diabetic kidney, there was HSP47 upregulation likely involved in renal fibrosis, but expression of cytoprotective HSP27, HSPC/HSP90, HSPA/HSP70, and HSPD1/HSP60 was unchanged in the renal cortex of animals with type 1 diabetes and both HSPC/HSP90 and HSPD1/HSP60 were even downregulated in other models of diabetes. Here, HSPB1 is linked to renal fibrosis.