Epigenetic mechanisms in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), which arises as a result of an increasing incidence of diabetes mellitus, has gradually become a common disease. Due to its complex pathogenesis, the treatment means of DR are very limited. The findings of several studies have shown that instituting tight glycemic control in diabetic patients does not immediately benefit the progression of retinopathy, and the benefits of good control persist beyond the period of good glycemic control. This has led to the concept of persistent epigenetic changes. Epigenetics has now become an increasingly important area of biomedical research. Recently, important roles of various epigenetic mechanisms have been identified in the pathogenesis of diabetes and its complications. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the epigenetics and epigenetic mechanisms in diabetes and diabetes complications, and the focus is on the emerging evidence for aberrant epigenetic mechanisms in DR.