PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
The Role of Post-Translational Modifications in Vascular Calcification with Chronic Kidney Disease: Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Targeting with Plant metabolites
China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Xiyuan Hospital, Beijing, China
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Abstract
The high prevalence and associated mortality of chronic kidney disease (CKD) present a critical global public health challenge. Vascular calcification (VC), a common complication of CKD, is a key pathological factor in triggering cardiovascular events and significantly impacts patient outcomes. Currently, clinical treatments for CKD-associated vascular calcification (CKD-VC) remain limited, highlighting the importance of further exploring its pathogenesis and intervention strategies. Recent studies indicate that post-translational modifications (PTMs) play a central regulatory role in the progression of CKD-VC. This narrative review critically evaluates the role oparticularly enzymatic PTMs (E-PTMs) such as ubiquitination, acetylation, and lactylation, play a central regulatory role in the progression of CKD-VC. This narrative review critically evaluates the roles of these three E-PTMs in CKD-VC pathogenesis and assesses the preclinical pharmacological evidence for selected plant metabolites—specifically emodin, capsaicin, and Ganoderma lucidum spore powder (GLSP) — in modulating these pathways, while also discussing study limitations and future research needs.
Summary
Keywords
Acetylation, Chronic kidney disease (CKD), lactylation, plant metabolites, Ubiquitination, vascular calcification (VC)
Received
17 December 2025
Accepted
03 April 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Gao and Shiyi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Liu Shiyi
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