LCN2 and liver dysplastic nodule: Although KIM-1 and NGAL are well-known tubular injury markers and previous study examined the expressions of tubular markers in DN and confirmed the associations between tubular expressions of NGAL and KIM-1 and renal function decline in DN, serum or urine NGAL levels as biomarkers is still limited since the NGAL protein, which would be affected by inflammation, is not specific to kidney injury [42].