SOD1 and diabetic kidney disease: In HG-induced HK-2 cells, AS-IV modulates the Nrf2/ARE pathway to enhance antioxidant enzyme activities, such as SOD, GSH, and catalase (CAT), thereby reducing apoptosis (Wang and Guo 2019) Salidroside downregulates the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins Bim and Bax, thereby reducing apoptosis in renal tubular cells of DKD rats and HG-induced HK-2 cells (Guo et al. 2018).