PKM and chronic kidney disease: In the model of unilateral ischemia/reperfusion-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) to chronic kidney disease (CKD), increased levels of PKM2 lead to renal pericyte transdifferentiation by enhancing PKM2 nuclear translocation and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)A and GLUT1 transcription, which in turn increase lactate production (83).