In mice and humans with DKD, LRG1 expression is increased in glomerular endothelial cells [23, 24, 101] prior to the upregulation of VEGF [24], which corroborates the view of LRG1 being an early pathogenic factor driving initial microvascular instability and priming the vasculature for angiogenesis. This evidence concerns the gene LRG1 and diabetic kidney disease.