CCL2 and diabetic kidney disease: The activation of NF‐κB is characterized by increased phosphorylation of its p65 subunit and elevated expression of inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), and monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1).[32] We found that the phosphorylation of p65 and the expression of these cytokines were significantly increased in DKD kidneys, as examined with ELISA analysis (Figure 3A–D), and western blot (Figure 3F,G).