N(DR)2-Eye

Abstract

Of the 60 million European adults diagnosed with diabetes (2020), around 60% of patients with type 2 diabetes and practically all patients with type 1 diabetes will develop diabetic retinopathy within the first 20 years of their diagnosis. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a complex disease with a chronic inflammatory component in the retina. Impaired glucose metabolism, a key feature of diabetes, is associated with a higher production of advanced glycation end products that can induce the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS).

The N(DR)2-Eye project aimed to elucidate the role of Ndr2 kinase as a new key player in microglial cells and on oxidative stress-induced inflammation in the context of diabetic retinopathy. This exploratory project intended to lay the ground for future studies on how Ndr signaling modulates neuronal immune response, helping to better understand the pathology of diabetic retinopathy. Furthermore, it demonstrated how Ndr signaling could be a potential therapeutic target pathway for preventing microglial-induced retinal neural dysfunction and degeneration triggered by diabetes.