Furthermore, the overexpression of miR-22 can reduce the expression of inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) and NO, as well as significantly reduce cell apoptosis via PTEN/high-mobility group Box 1 (HMGB1) and TLR4/NF-κB pathway, thereby alleviating the AKI caused by sepsis (Shen et al., 2018; Shen et al., 2019b; Wang et al., 2020a). Here, TLR4 is linked to acute kidney injury.