Furthermore, we found that the expression levels of EGF and ZFP36 were negatively correlated with serum creatinine levels in DN patients (P=0.0051 and R=-0.65 for EGF; P=0.0013 and R=-0.66 for ZFP36) (Figure 5C, 5I), whereas the levels of blood creatinine showed an opposite trend with regards to the expression of PAG1 in patients with DN (P=5.6e-06 and R=0.54 for PAG1) (Figure 5F). This evidence concerns the gene EGF and liver dysplastic nodule.