Of interest, Tashiro et al. reported increased levels of IL-8 in urine samples from the patients with early-stage DKD [46] while others observed increased IL-8 production by tubular epithelial cells via activation of NF-κB, ERK1/2 and STAT1 signalling in a glycated-albumin-induced diabetes model [47]. Here, STAT1 is linked to diabetes mellitus.