Immune cell activation in diabetic retinopathy

Inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR), although the detailed pathways involved remain poorly defined. Inflammation may occur intravascularly at the early stages of DR in the form of leukocyte-endothelial interaction (leukostasis). As the disease progresses, this intravascular inflammation damages the integrity of the blood retina barrier resulting in the infiltration of circulating immune cells and plasma proteins that are often toxic to various retinal cells, including the vascular cells as well as various neurons. The presentation will discuss how the phenotype and function of circulating immune cells is affected by diabetes and the contribution of systemic immune activation to retinal degeneration during diabetes.