Research Progress on Traditional Chinese Medicine Targeting the Wnt/β-catenin Signaling Pathway in the Treatment of Diabetic Nephropathy

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a common complication of diabetes mellitus and a major cause of end-stage renal disease. DKD is a complex pathological mechanism and difficult to treat, and it has gradually become a major public health problem worldwide. one of the main pathological changes of DKD is tubulointerstitial fibrosis, which is clinically manifested by proteinuria and decreased renal function, and it has caused serious impact on patients' daily life. Currently, western medicine is used to treat DKD by controlling blood glucose and blood pressure and reducing proteinuria, but the efficacy is not good and there are many adverse effects. Studies have shown that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has the advantages of low price, obvious therapeutic effect, and fewer adverse effects in the treatment of DKD, and more and more DKD researchers are focusing on TCM, and related studies at home and abroad have made certain progress. Some studies have proved that the abnormal activation of Wnt/β-catenin signalling is related to renal fibrosis, which coincides with the "complex disease theory" of TCM. By reviewing the relevant literature, we would like to give an overview of the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway and its role in DKD, as well as the current status of the research on the improvement of renal fibrosis and treatment of DKD through the improvement of the damage of glomerular plasma cells, tubular epithelial cells and pedunculated cells by TCM monomers, single-flavour extracts of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and TCM combinations, with a view to providing TCM with a new way of thinking and a new direction for the treatment of DKD.