HSPB1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus: HSPB1 has been shown to be elevated in T2D patients with diabetic nephropathy9 and it is highly expressed in podocytes and increased in vitro by high glucose; it is thought that HSPB1 is likely to have a protective effect to limit apoptosis and oxidative stress42; HSPB1 is reported to be overexpressed in diabetic retinopathy43.