HAVCR1 and acute kidney injury: Kidney Injury Molecule-1 (KIM-1), upregulated in damaged tubular cells, shows promise as an early and accurate AKI biomarker.<h4>Objectives</h4>This multimodal study integrates bioinformatic analyses, in vitro experiments, and a systematic review with meta-analysis to comprehensively evaluate KIM-1 expression, function, and early diagnostic performance.<h4>Methods</h4>We analyzed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data to assess HAVCR1 expression and co-regulated genes in kidney tissue and cisplatin-treated HK-2 cells.