In vivo experiments further confirmed that PAA significantly reduced blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and proteinuria levels in STZ-induced DKD mice, inhibited the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α in renal tissues, significantly increased the levels of LC3 and ATG5 proteins, and downregulated the levels of marker proteins such as p62 and FUNDC1, suggesting that PAA can improve renal dysfunction in DKD mice by downregulating FUNDC1 activation of mitophagy (Wu et al., 2023). This evidence concerns the gene SQSTM1 and diabetic kidney disease.