Other circulating cytokines, including MCP-1 (p = 0.432), IL-6 (p = 0.313), IL-8 (p = 0.361), VEGF-C (p = 0.120), and VEGF-A (r = 0.07, p = 0.345) were found to be positively correlated with DKD, but there was no statistical significance (Figure 2). The gene discussed is VEGFC; the disease is diabetic kidney disease.