KITLG and liver dysplastic nodule: Furthermore, we examined the KITLG-mediated signaling pathway in AGE-induced glomerular endothelium injury in DN, and found that both AGEs and KITLG increased the phosphorylation of AKT and ERK1/2, meaning that KITLG may contribute to EndoMT and may further impair the endothelial permeability induced by AGEs in HGECs through the AKT/ERK1/2 pathway.