Current researches of function and mechanism of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ in diabetic retinopathy

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ), a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, plays a great role in delaying or even preventing the occurrence and/or development of diabetic retinopathy (DR), a complicated out-of-control waterfall-like pathophysiological processes.DR is characterized by pathways, such as inflammatory reactions, the generation of advanced glycation end products, oxidative stress, protein kinase C and so on.As one of the most important metabolic homeostasis and adipocyte differentiation regulator, the single nucleotide polymorphism and molecular structure of PPAR-γ have been proven to impact on anti-inflammation, anti-neovascularization and fibration, antioxidation, insulin sensitizer and anti-apoptosis in DR.This review provided a summary of the function and mechanism researches on PPAR-γ and offered new ideas of prevention and therapy in DR.