C1QTNF9 and chronic kidney disease: Clinical studies have shown that plasma CTRP9 levels are associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis in diabetic patients without chronic kidney disease, but not with obesity, adiponectin, and traditional cardiovascular risk factors, indicating that CTRP9 may play a role in the progression of atherosclerosis in patients with T2DM (Asada et al., 2016).