In a murine model of acute kidney injury (AKI) induced by ischemia–reperfusion injury (IRI), single-nucleus RNA sequencing analysis demonstrated that failed-repair proximal tubular cells (FR-PTCs) are marked by a downregulation of genes associated with normal differentiation and proliferation, such as Hnf4a, alongside an upregulation of genes related to injury, including Havcr1, Krt20, Ccl2, and Vcam1. Here, KRT20 is linked to acute kidney injury.