ACSF2 and liver dysplastic nodule: To further elucidate the potential correlation between ACSF2 and tubular injury progression in DN, patients with DN were classified based on interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IFTA) into four grades: no IFTA (fibrotic area = 0, IFTA = 0), mild IFTA (fibrotic area < 25%, IFTA = 1), moderate IFTA (fibrotic area 26-50%, IFTA = 2), and severe IFTA (fibrotic area > 50%, IFTA = 3) [17].