Exploration on the Relationship between Intestinal Microbiota and Diabetic Kidney Disease Based on the Theory of the Correlation between the Spleen and Kidney

Diabetic Kidney Disease (DKD) is a major microvascular complication of diabetes. Its pathogenesis is complex and involves multiple factors such as metabolic disorders, inflammatory responses, and intestinal microbiota dysbiosis. This article takes the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory of "the correlation between the spleen and kidney" as the core, systematically explores the role of the intestinal microbiota in the occurrence and development of DKD, and proposes a pathological model of the "spleen-kidney-intestinal microbiota axis". By integrating the physiological functions of TCM, namely "the spleen governing transportation and transformation, and the kidney governing water metabolism", with the metabolic regulation and immune-inflammatory mechanisms mediated by the intestinal microbiota in Western medicine, this article reveals the molecular pathways through which deficiency of both the spleen and kidney leads to intestinal microbiota dysbiosis, intestinal barrier damage, and the accumulation of uremic toxins. It provides new ideas for the integrated treatment of DKD combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine.