Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Nov 6:11:564077.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.564077. eCollection 2020.

Microglia and Inflammatory Responses in Diabetic Retinopathy

Urbanus Muthai Kinuthia  1   2 , Anne Wolf  1 , Thomas Langmann  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Microglia and Inflammatory Responses in Diabetic Retinopathy

Urbanus Muthai Kinuthia et al. Front Immunol. .

Abstract

Diabetic retinopathy is a vision-threatening disease affecting neurons and microvasculature of the retina. The development of this disease is associated with the action of inflammatory factors that are connected to the activation of microglial cells, the resident tissue macrophages of the CNS. In the quiescent state, microglial cells help maintain tissue homeostasis in the retina through phagocytosis and control of low-grade inflammation. However, prolonged tissue stress due to hyperglycemia primes microglia to become overly reactive with the concomitant production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines causing chronic inflammation. In this review, we provide evidence of microglial cell activation and pro-inflammatory molecules associated with the development and progression of diabetic retinopathy. We further highlight innovative animal models that can mimic the disease in humans and discuss strategies in modulating microglial-mediated inflammation as potential therapeutic approaches in managing the disease.

Keywords: chemokines; cytokines; diabetic retinopathy; hyperglycemia; inflammation; microglia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Retinal microglia dysregulation in diabetic retinopathy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lechner J, O’Leary OE, Stitt AW. The pathology associated with diabetic retinopathy. Vision Res (2017) 139:7–14. 10.1016/j.visres.2017.04.003 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Duh EJ, Sun JK, Stitt AW. Diabetic retinopathy: current understanding, mechanisms, and treatment strategies. JCI insight (2017) 2:e93751. 10.1172/jci.insight.93751 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wells JA, Glassman AR, Ayala AR, Jampol LM, Aiello LP, Antoszyk AN, et al. Aflibercept, bevacizumab, or ranibizumab for diabetic macular edema. N Engl J Med (2015) 372:1193–203. 10.1056/NEJMoa1414264 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Altmann C, Schmidt MHH. The role of microglia in diabetic retinopathy: Inflammation, microvasculature defects and neurodegeneration. Int J Mol Sci (2018) 19:110. 10.3390/ijms19010110 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Boss JD, Singh PK, Pandya HK, Tosi J, Kim C, Tewari A, et al. Assessment of neurotrophins and inflammatory mediators in vitreous of patients with diabetic retinopathy. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci (2017) 58:5594–603. 10.1167/iovs.17-21973 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types