Changes and significance of cytokines in the intraocular fluids in patients with diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is a chronic, progressive and potentially harmful retinal microvascular disease that is associated with persistent hyperglycemia.Without timely and effective treatment, it will seriously damage the vision of patients and bring great inconvenience to their lives.The development of DR involves various mechanisms such as blood-retinal barrier damage, inflammation and neurodegeneration.Intraocular fluids, including aqueous humor and vitreous fluid, can directly reflect the changes in the intraocular environment and have a good indication of the progress of intraocular lesions.In recent years, the changes of various cytokines in intraocular fluid during the occurrence of DR and their influence on the disease course and their changes after treatment have been widely studied.This article focuses on the changes in angiogenesis-related cytokines such as vascular endothelial growth factor, placental growth factor, galectin-1, angiotensin 1 (Ang1), Ang2 and inflammation-related cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, transforming growth factor-β, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 in the intraocular fluid of DR patients, and the changes of these cytokines and the significance after treatment in patients with diabetic macular edema and proliferative DR to provide potential targets for exploring new and personalized clinical treatment and theoretical basis to improve the prognosis of patients with DR.

Diabetic retinopathy; Cytokines; Aqueous humor; Vitreous fluid; Personalized treatment; Review