During the processes of renal fibrosis, the expressions of mesenchymal marker proteins, such as α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and fibrous matrix proteins (mainly collagen I and III and fibronectin), are significantly upregulated in the renal tissues (Chen et al., 2017; Bülow and Boor, 2019; Schulz et al., 2022). Here, ACTA1 is linked to renal fibrosis.