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Review
. 2017 Oct:139:228-236.
doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2017.04.010. Epub 2017 May 26.

The role of dyslipidemia in diabetic retinopathy

Sandra S Hammer  1 , Julia V Busik  2
Affiliations
Review

The role of dyslipidemia in diabetic retinopathy

Sandra S Hammer et al. Vision Res. 2017 Oct.

Abstract

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) affects over 93million people worldwide and is the number one cause of blindness among working age adults. These indicators coupled with the projected rise of patients diagnosed with diabetes, makes DR a serious and prevalent vision threating disease. Data from recent clinical trials demonstrate that in addition to the well accepted role of hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia is an important, but often overlooked factor in the development of DR. The central aim of this review article is to showcase the critical role of dyslipidemia in DR progression as well as highlight novel therapeutic solutions that take advantage of the vital roles lipid metabolism plays in DR progression.

Keywords: ASM; Bone marrow; Cholesterol metabolism; Diabetic retinopathy; Dyslipidemia; Fatty acids; Inflammation; Liver X receptor; miR-15a.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diabetes causes pathological upregulation of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) and ceramide in the bone marrow, leading to infiltration of pro-inflammatory monocytes (red cells) and impaired vascular repair by circulating angiogenic cells (green cells) in the retina. Inhibition of ASM in the bone marrow restores the balance between pro-inflammatory and reparative cells and prevents diabetes-induced retinal vascular degeneration.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Diabetes leads to decreased levels of LXR. LXR downregulation leads to increased levels of inflammation and impaired cholesterol metabolism. Activation of LXR, via GW3965, prevents formation of diabetes-induced acellular capillary formation in an animal model of diabetes.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Dual beneficial effects of targeting miR-15a in diabetic retinopathy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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