Defective Autophagy in Diabetic Retinopathy

Abstract

High glucose upregulates autophagy but accumulates p62/SQTSM1 cargo due to lysosomal dysfunction, leading to massive VEGF release and cell death of rMCs. Lysosomal impairment and autophagic dysfunction are early events present in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This might be valuable for developing a novel therapeutic strategy to treat DR.