CRP and diabetic kidney disease: Several in-depth mechanistic studies have demonstrated that NLRP3 is one of the central targets that exacerbate the progression of DKD, and that some molecules or proteins exert their biological effects by acting on NLRP3, examples include the ROS/thioredoxin (TRX)-interacting protein (TXNIP)/NLRP3 signal pathway [53], Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor κb (NF-κB)/NLRP3 signal pathway [54], adenosine triphosphate (ATP)/P2X4/NLRP3 signal pathway [55], and C reactive protein (CRP)/Smad3/NLRP3 signal pathway [56].