Chemokines in diabetic eye disease

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Immunology
• Endocrinology

Background:

• Diabetic eye disease is a leading cause of vision loss in working-age individuals globally.
• While chemokines are implicated, their specific roles in diabetic eye disease pathogenesis remain unclear.
• This is the first meta-analysis to investigate the role of chemokines in diabetic eye disease.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically investigate the association between chemokine concentrations and diabetic eye disease.
• To identify key chemokines involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic eye disease.
• To provide insights for developing novel therapeutic targets for diabetic eye disease.

Main Methods:

• A systematic search of Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library was conducted.
• A random-effect model was used for meta-analysis, calculating standardized mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
• Network meta-analysis was employed to rank chemokines based on their effect sizes.

Main Results:

• 33 chemokines were analyzed across 11,465 subjects (6559 cases, 4906 controls).
• Significantly higher concentrations of CC and CXC chemokines were observed in patients with diabetic eye disease.
• CCL8, CCL2, CXCL8, and CXCL10 showed the highest ranked effects, particularly in diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema.

Conclusions:

• CCL2 and CXCL8 are suggested to play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of diabetic eye disease.
• Further research is warranted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.
• These findings may contribute to the development of new prophylactic and therapeutic strategies.