Mimicking microvascular alterations of human diabetic retinopathy: a challenge for the mouse models

Although it has become acceptable that neuroretinal cells are also affected in diabetes, vascular lesions continue to be considered as the hallmarks of diabetic retinopathy. Animal models are essential for the understanding and treatment of human diabetic retinopathy, and the mouse is intensively used as a model because of its similarity to human and the possibility to be genetically modified. However, until today not all retinal vascular lesions developed in diabetic patients have been reproduced in diabetic mice, and the reasons for this are not completely understood. In this review, we will summarize retinal vascular lesions found in diabetic and diabetic-like mouse models and its comparison to human lesions. The goal is to provide insights to better understand human and mice differences and thus, to facilitate the development of new mouse models that mimic better human diabetic retinopathy.