Evidence mapPaperPMID 42225355Full record

ArticleBMJ open ophthalmology2026

Retinal vasculature-derived proteins serve as potential systemic biomarkers for diabetic retinopathy.

Rajendran Sharmila, Narayanasamy Angayarkanni, Dhanashree Ratra, Seetharaman Shanmuganathan, D'Cruze Lawrence, Kathiresan Purushothaman, Qingsong Lin, Annamalai Radha, Kuppan Kaviarasan

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Article in BMJ open ophthalmology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Rajendran SharmilaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9286-4740
Narayanasamy AngayarkanniMehta Jain Department of Biochemistry and Cell biology, Vision Research Foundation, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Dhanashree RatraDepartment of Vitreo-retinal Diseases, Medical Research Foundation, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5687-6384
Seetharaman ShanmuganathanSchool of Pharmacy, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Puducherry, India.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3735-1560
D'Cruze LawrenceDepartment of Pathology, Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5295-5250
Kathiresan PurushothamanFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway, Norway.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2909-9908
Qingsong LinDepartment of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9117-8514
Annamalai RadhaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Kuppan KaviarasanDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India kkavi@sriramachandra.edu.in.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9102-585X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeFibrovascular membrane (FVM), a pathological tissue causing retinal traction, represents an advanced stage of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). This study aimed to identify novel protein biomarkers associated with retinal microvascular damage leading to FVM formation and to evaluate the diagnostic potential of stratifin (SFN) and hornerin (HRNR) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and diabetic retinopathy (DR).

methodsHuman retinal vasculature from non-diabetic donors and FVM tissues from PDR patients undergoing PPV were analyzed by one-dimensional liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify differentially expressed proteins. Functional enrichment and protein interaction analyses were performed using STRING databases. Selected proteins' messenger RNA expression was quantified by quantitative PCR (qPCR) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy, T2DM, and DR with nephropathy (DR with DN) patients. Serum levels of SFN and HRNR were measured by ELISA in T2DM, DR, and DR with DN cohorts. Diagnostic performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

resultsA total of 44 FVM specific proteins were identified, notably SFN and HRNR linked to retinal angiogenesis. Serum HRNR levels were significantly decreased in DR with DN compared with T2DM, whereas SFN levels were significantly increased in DR versus T2DM. ROC analyses demonstrated acceptable accuracy for differentiating DR stages based on serum SFN and HRNR levels.

conclusionsThis is the first study to identify SFN and HRNR as systemic candidate biomarkers reflecting microvascular alterations in DR. Larger cohort studies are warranted to validate their clinical relevance for early detection and therapeutic targeting of DR.

Indexed as

BiomarkersDiabetic RetinopathyExoribonucleasesEye ProteinsRetinal Vessels14-3-3 ProteinsAgedChromatography, LiquidDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent AssayFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedROC Curve14-3-3 ProteinsBiomarkersExoribonucleasesEye ProteinsSFN protein, humanAngiogenesisDiagnostic tests/InvestigationEye (Globe)Retina

Identifiers

PMID42225355
PMCPMC13239574

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.