Merscher-Gomez et al. showed that human podocytes exposed to serum from DN patients, increased the presence of cell plasma membrane blebbing, lipid droplets and reduced the expression of the ATP-binding cassette A1 (ABCA1), a scavenger receptor associated with cholesterol efflux, whereas no changes were observed after stimulation with serum from diabetic patients without DN and healthy controls. This evidence concerns the gene ABCA1 and liver dysplastic nodule.