Mechanistic Insights into Immunological Therapy for Targeting Diabetic Retinopathy

Abstract

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common complication amongst patients that have diabetes. It is a leading cause of blindness in middle age people. A large proportion of patients who have diabetes develop retinopathy. There are several immunological reasons associated with the pathophysiology of this disease. Role of several mediators that increase the oxidative stress and have a pro-inflammatory effect which leads to capillary occlusion and neovascularization (NV). Increased vasopermeability due to disruption of the blood-retinal barrier (BRB) leading to diabetic macular edema (DME). Immunotherapies utilise different compounds and target various inflammatory molecules like TNF-α and pathways such as PPARγ for treatment of this progressive disease. Inflammatory and pro-inflammatory pathways are found to have an essential role in promoting DR; therefore, targeting them provides a useful technique for curing DR.