AKT1 and diabetic kidney disease: This review elaborates on the therapeutic potential of examining TCM's impact on DKD through the prism of cellular signaling pathways and reveals that the Nrf2, TGF-β/Smad, NF-κB/NLRP3, MAPK, and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways warrant particular attention in the TCM treatment of DKD.