Research progress on the production and application of cellular models of diabetic retinopathy

ABSTRACT                     [Download PDF]  [View Full Text]

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most common serious microvascular complications of diabetes.Many studies have shown that DR is caused by damage to the retinal neurovascular unit.As our understanding of the pathogenesis of DR is still limited, existing treatment methods have not achieved the ideal effect of delaying progression and curing the disease at the fundamental level of pathogenesis.To further clarify the occurrence and development mechanism of DR and explore more effective prevention and treatment methods, researchers have developed and used various cell models targeting specific cells and signaling pathways.Most of these cell models can simulate part of the pathological changes of DR, but they cannot fully simulate the physiological and pathological environments in the body.Therefore, researchers must consider the research purpose and observation indicators comprehensively, select an appropriate cell model, and confirm it through animal experiments.This review provides a comprehensive discussion about the normal distribution, physiological functions, pathological changes of DR and the modeling methods, pathological manifestations and research applications of these models.

KEYWORDS：

Diabetic retinopathy; Pathogenesis; Cell model; Retinal neurovascular unit