VEGFA and diabetic kidney disease: Nektaria found that there are many common signalling pathways between TECs and GECs, in which crosstalk plays a vast role (Figure 1).5 During the occurrence of DKD, abnormal secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiopoietin‐1 (Ang‐1) and inflammatory factors and hypoxia promotes injury to GECs.