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Updated: Aug 29, 2026
Digestion of Whole Mouse Eyes for Multi-Parameter Flow Cytometric Analysis of Mononuclear Phagocytes
Published on: June 17, 2020
Glycosylation-Associated Macrophage Signatures Define a Diagnostic Model for Diabetic Retinopathy via Single-Cell
Zhujuan Pan1, Shaobo Zhou1, Wenjuan Qi1
1Key Laboratory of Biological Targeting Diagnosis, Therapy and Rehabilitation of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Ophthalmology Department, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China, gzhmc.edu.cn.
Purpose:
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) remains a leading cause of vision loss, with macrophages and glycosylation dysregulation implicated in DR pathogenesis. However, the potential as diagnostic biomarkers has been rarely investigated.
Methods:
We integrated single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) datasets to profile DR cell landscapes. The immune cell heterogeneity was dissected, and glycosylation-related transcriptional programs were delineated in DR. Machine learning-based diagnostic modeling was also conducted to identify macrophage differentiation-related glycosylation genes (MDRGGs).
Results:
Macrophages exhibited elevated abundance in proliferative DR and showed intense interactions with other monocytes. Endothelial cells were subdivided into four subtypes, with Endo_KCNQ3 representing a dominant proliferative and highly glycosylated phenotype. Monocytes were clustered into three subtypes; Mono_RGS1 emerged as a transitional phenotype in the monocyte-to-macrophage trajectory. Macro_MIR181A1HG was identified as a proliferative and glycosylation-active macrophage subset. A total of 100 MDRGGs were identified. Among them, seven hub genes (AKAP13, SRGAP2, AFF1, ARHGAP24, RNF149, PTK2B, ATP1B3) were incorporated into a diagnostic model. The model achieved high predictive accuracy in both training and external validation cohorts (AUC > 0.85) and was further validated via nomogram and decision curve analyses.
Conclusion:
Glycosylation is closely associated with macrophage heterogeneity in DR. A seven-gene MDRGG-based diagnostic model demonstrated robust diagnostic performance in DR.
