Kim Hyunjong, Ryu Juhee
Vessel-Organ Interaction Research Center, College of Pharmacy, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea.
College of Pharmacy and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea.
Korean J Physiol Pharmacol. 2025 Jul 1;29(4):385-397. doi: 10.4196/kjpp.24.389. Epub 2025 May 15.
Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a significant complication that affects the retina of individuals with diabetes, poses a severe threat to their visual health. DR is classified into stages ranging from non-proliferative to proliferative forms. As the disease progresses, pathological neovascularization and hemorrhage in the retina or vitreous can occur, potentially leading to vision impairment or blindness. Current treatments for DR include intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs and surgical interventions such as laser photocoagulation. However, these treatments are associated with various complications and side effects. Therefore, cellular and epigenetic studies are necessary to better understand the pathogenesis of DR, which may lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Several studies have demonstrated the role of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in the pathogenesis and progression of DR. CircRNAs have been shown to regulate the expression of genes involved in the proliferation, differentiation, or angiogenesis of different retinal cells, thereby influencing their function. Therefore, this review aims to investigate the role of circRNAs in different retinal cell types in DR and evaluate their potential as diagnostic and therapeutic targets for the disease.
糖尿病性视网膜病变（DR）是一种影响糖尿病患者视网膜的严重并发症，对其视觉健康构成严重威胁。DR分为从非增殖性到增殖性的不同阶段。随着疾病进展，视网膜或玻璃体中可出现病理性新生血管形成和出血，可能导致视力损害或失明。DR的当前治疗方法包括玻璃体内注射抗血管内皮生长因子药物以及激光光凝等手术干预。然而，这些治疗与各种并发症和副作用相关。因此，细胞和表观遗传学研究对于更好地理解DR的发病机制是必要的，这可能会导致新治疗策略的开发。多项研究已证明环状RNA（circRNA）在DR的发病机制和进展中的作用。CircRNA已被证明可调节参与不同视网膜细胞增殖、分化或血管生成的基因表达，从而影响其功能。因此，本综述旨在研究circRNA在DR不同视网膜细胞类型中的作用，并评估它们作为该疾病诊断和治疗靶点的潜力。
