Diabetology, Vol. 6, Pages 132: Peripheral Blood Gene Expression Profiling in Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy Using NanoString Technology

Diabetology doi: 10.3390/diabetology6110132

Authors:
Alon Zahavi
Shirel Weiss
Jawad Abu Dbai
Talal Salti
Nitza Goldenberg-Cohen

Background: Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is a vision-threatening complication of diabetes characterized by retinal neovascularization. Predicting which diabetic patients will develop PDR remains challenging. Measuring mRNA expression levels may help elucidate the molecular pathways involved in PDR pathogenesis. This study investigated the expression of genes related to inflammatory and proliferative pathways in the peripheral blood of patients with PDR, compared to patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and healthy controls, using NanoString technology. The findings may aid in identifying potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for early intervention. Methods: This prospective study was approved by the institutional ethics review board, and written informed consent was obtained from all participants. The study included patients with PDR (n = 9), NPDR (n = 8), and non-diabetic controls (n = 6). Total RNA was extracted from whole blood samples using the MagNA Pure Compact RNA Isolation Kit (Roche Ltd., Basel, Switzerland) and analyzed with the NanoString platform (Agentek Ltd., Yakum, Israel). Results: Expression levels of 578 genes across 15 signaling pathways, including inflammation (e.g., IL-17, TNF, and NF-κB) and cancer-related PI3K-Akt pathways, were evaluated. Sixty-six genes (11.5%) were differentially expressed (p < 0.05) between the PDR group and the NPDR and control groups. The most prominently overexpressed genes in PDR included TGFβ1, TGFβ1R, IL23R, BAX, and CFB, which were primarily involved in inflammatory and proliferative signaling. Conclusions: Gene expression profiling using NanoString technology revealed significant upregulation of genes related to inflammation and proliferation in patients with PDR. These findings suggest that beyond angiogenesis, inflammatory and proliferative pathways may play a central role in PDR development and could serve as targets for novel therapeutic strategies.

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Alon Zahavi www.mdpi.com