Pathology-Anchored Biomarker Research Progress for the Early Diagnosis of Diabetic Kidney Disease: From Pathological Association to Early Validation

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Early diagnosis is therefore critical for improving patient outcomes.However, traditional clinical biomarkers are constrained by diagnostic latency and limited sensitivity, particularly in cases of non-albuminuric DKD. To address these limitations, this review systematically explores the technical framework of the pathology-anchored strategy and proposes a two-phase translational approach, consisting of Pathology Anchoring Discovery and Prospective Early Validation. This strategy employs renal biopsy as the pathological gold standard in conjunction with multi-omics technologies to correlate circulating or urinary molecules with specific renal histological lesions, ultimately identifying non-invasive biomarkers with definitive pathological relevance. While numerous biomarkers demonstrate early warning potential in high-risk populations with normal conventional indicators, the pathology-anchored framework serves as a critical bridge linking these clinical biomarkers and distinct pathological changes. This review presents potential insights for early identification, risk stratification, and prognostic assessment of DKD.