The joint effect of the endothelin receptor B gene (EDNRB) polymorphism rs10507875 and nitric oxide synthase 3 gene (NOS3) polymorphism rs869109213 in Slovenian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic retinopathy

Association of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) 4a/b polymorphism with the risk of incident diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and updated meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To conduct a systematic review and updated meta-analysis on the potential association between endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) 4a/b polymorphism and the risk of developing diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to identify possible clinical biomarkers for early screening of DR.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A meta-analysis based on case-control or cross-sectional studies was conducted to examine the correlation between eNOS 4a/b polymorphism and DR. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to estimate the association strength.

RESULTS

We included 19 studies, covering 7838 subjects. An association was observed in Caucasians (allelic model: OR = 1.273, 95% CI: 1.006-1.610, p = .045; recessive model: OR = 0.575, 95% CI: 0.371-0.892, p = .014; dominant model: OR = 1.268, 95% CI: 1.052-1.528, p = .013; homozygote model: OR = 1.833, 95% CI: 1.176-2.856, p = .007). Moreover, population-based studies have indicated an association between eNOS 4a/b polymorphism and DR susceptibility.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study showed that intron 4a allele of eNOS 4a/b is a risk factor for DR in Caucasians with T2DM. Thus, eNOS 4a/b may be used as a biomarker for the early screening and diagnosis of DR in Caucasian T2DM patients.Key messagesEndothelial nitric oxide synthase 4a/b gene polymorphism is not associated with the risk of developing diabetic retinopathy in the overall population, Asians, or Chinese Han patients with type 2 diabetes. However, 4a is a risk factor for the development of diabetic retinopathy in Caucasians.Endothelial nitric oxide synthase 4a/b gene polymorphism is not associated with the type of diabetic retinopathy.

Integrating network pharmacology, transcriptomics, and molecular simulation to reveal the mechanism of tert-butylhydroquinone for treating diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a common microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus, is a significant cause of blindness. As one of the crucial factors in the pathogenesis of DR, oxidative stress provides new insights for the treatment of DR. Tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), an efficient phenolic antioxidant, has been proved to inhibit diabetic retina injury. However, the mechanism of TBHQ for DR treatment is still unclear. The present study was designed to investigate the potential mechanism of TBHQ for treating DR. Firstly, the potential targets of TBHQ and DR were selected to construct protein-protein interaction network, which was applied to illustrate the potential mechanism of TBHQ against DR. Combined with transcriptomics and molecular simulation, the potential mechanisms were systematically verified. The results showed that TBHQ inhibited retinal microvascular injury by regulating oxidative stress, inflammation, cell proliferation-death regulation, and vascular system development. The mechanisms of these activities were associated with hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), nuclear factor-erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), forkhead box O (FoxO), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT), and rhoptry-associated protein1 (Rap1) signaling pathways and their related targets nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3), mitogen-activated protein kinase 8 (MAPK8), prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2), and heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1). In conclusion, a systematic perspective for the mechanism of TBHQ against DR was revealed by present study which lays a foundation for the application of TBHQ in treating DR.

Mapping research trends in diabetic retinopathy from 2010 to 2019: A bibliometric analysis

Background:

Although many publications in diabetic retinopathy (DR) have been reported, there is no bibliometric analysis.

Purpose:

To perform a bibliometric analysis in the field of diabetic retinopathy (DR) research, to characterize the current international status of DR research, to identify the most effective factors involved in this field, and to explore research hotspots in DR research.

Methods:

Based on the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), a bibliometric analysis was conducted to investigate the publication trends in research related to DR. Knowledge maps were constructed by VOSviewer v.1.6.10 to visualize the publications, the distribution of countries, international collaborations, author productivity, source journals, cited references and keywords, and research hotspots in this field.

Results:

In total, 11,839 peer-reviewed papers were retrieved on DR from 2010 to 2019, and the annual research output increased with time. The United States ranks highest among countries with the most publications. The most active institution is the University of Melbourne. Wong, TY contributed the largest number of publications in this field. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science was the most prolific journal in DR research. The top-cited references mainly investigated the use of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) medications in the management of DR, and the keywords formed 6 clusters:

Discussion:

With the improvement of living standard, DR has gradually become one of the important causes of blindness, and has become a hot spot of public health research in many countries. The application of deep learning and artificial intelligence in diabetes screening and anti-VEGF medications in the management of DR have been the research hotspots in recent 10 years.

Conclusions:

Based on data extracted from the WoSCC, this study provides a broad view of the current status and trends in DR research and may provide clinicians and researchers with insight into DR research and valuable information to identify potential collaborators and partner institutions and better predict their dynamic directions.

Systems-Pharmacology-Based Identification of Antitumor Necrosis Factor Effect in Mimeng Flower Decoction for the Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy

The traditional Chinese medicine of Mimeng flower decoction (MFD) is effective in treating diabetic retinopathy (DR), but the mechanism is still unclear. This study aims at investigating the mechanism of MFD in treating DR. First, active compounds in MFD were filtered out by the systems pharmacology method and used as bait to fish potential targets. The common genes between the targets and DR-related genes were selected to construct the compound-target-disease network and identify the network hub gene as a key gene. Molecular docking was simulated to assess the binding affinity of active compounds towards the gene protein. Streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced diabetic rat model was administered to evaluate the efficacy of MFD in treating DR and its effects on retinal gene expression. Finally, 53 active compounds were screened out from the seven herbs in MFD, with a total of 136 targets. After intersecting with 210 DR-related genes, 21 common genes were applied to construct the network, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) was identified as the hub gene. The active compounds of acacetin, kaempferol, luteolin, and quercetin showed a good binding affinity towards TNF (C-score ≥ 4). In diabetic rats, MFD treatment reversed the retinal impairment and decreased retinal TNF expression significantly. In conclusion, this study adopted the method of systems pharmacology to screen out active compounds and construct the compound-target-disease network and found that MFD could ameliorate DR by downregulating the network hub gene of TNF.