Proliferative diabetic retinopathy subtypes defined by immune defense and endothelial mitochondrial dysfunction.

ABSTRACT: Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is a major complication of diabetes characterized by pathological angiogenesis in the retina. Standard treatment includes vitrectomy to remove these abnormal vessels, and the resulting clinical specimens provide an opportunity to define drivers of PDR. Here, we profiled endothelial and immune cells from such samples to identify disease mechanisms. In some patients, endothelial cells were more abundant, whereas in others, immune cells predominated. Immune cells exhibited gene expression programs directed against pathological endothelium, suggesting an endogenous defense that may explain the scarcity of endothelial cells in certain cases. Preoperative anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy altered transcriptional programs in both endot

SUBMITTER: McCann MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12541085 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature