Use of serum long non-coding RNA expression panel as a marker for diabetic retinopathy

IntroductionDiabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common chronic complication of diabetes, the leading cause of vision impairments in working-aged adults, and a significant cause of reduced quality of life for diabetic patients. Diabetic patients are recommended to have regular screening in order to...

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Main Authors: Eric Wang, Shali Chen, Anorin Ali, Biao Feng, Selina Liu, John Gonder, Tom Sheidow, Phil Hooper, Subrata Chakrabarti
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2025.1523997/full
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author Eric Wang
Shali Chen
Anorin Ali
Biao Feng
Selina Liu
John Gonder
Tom Sheidow
Phil Hooper
Subrata Chakrabarti
Subrata Chakrabarti
Subrata Chakrabarti
author_facet Eric Wang
Shali Chen
Anorin Ali
Biao Feng
Selina Liu
John Gonder
Tom Sheidow
Phil Hooper
Subrata Chakrabarti
Subrata Chakrabarti
Subrata Chakrabarti
author_sort Eric Wang
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionDiabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common chronic complication of diabetes, the leading cause of vision impairments in working-aged adults, and a significant cause of reduced quality of life for diabetic patients. Diabetic patients are recommended to have regular screening in order to catch DR at an early enough stage for effective management. However, due to a variety of factors, many patients can still fall through the cracks with the current screening methods.MethodsSeveral long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), essential regulators of physiological and pathological processes, were previously identified by us as potential markers for DR phenotypes. In this study, we used a significantly larger sample set to validate our panel of lncRNAs. We also explored the possibility of creating a statistical model to detect DR from serum samples using the expression profiles of these lncRNAs.ResultsOur regression models, based solely on lncRNA expression data, demonstrated the ability to adequately detect DR and potentially predict it. Models based solely on lncRNA expression performed equally or better compared to models with additional patient information. The models showed promising performance, suggesting that serum lncRNA expression profiles could serve as reliable markers for DR detection.DiscussionFurther longitudinal studies are necessary to validate the model's capability to predict retinopathy in diabetic patients not yet diagnosed with DR. Nevertheless, our findings indicate that this lncRNA panel may offer a viable option for a simple, accessible, and convenient blood-based screening test for DR.
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spelling doaj-art-cc8a39a232dc4eef832c5f7a4f5b18702025-08-20T02:08:27ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine2297-055X2025-04-011210.3389/fcvm.2025.15239971523997Use of serum long non-coding RNA expression panel as a marker for diabetic retinopathyEric Wang0Shali Chen1Anorin Ali2Biao Feng3Selina Liu4John Gonder5Tom Sheidow6Phil Hooper7Subrata Chakrabarti8Subrata Chakrabarti9Subrata Chakrabarti10Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Western University, London, ON, CanadaDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Western University, London, ON, CanadaDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Western University, London, ON, CanadaDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Western University, London, ON, CanadaCentre for Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, St. Joseph’s Hospital, London, ON, CanadaIvey Eye Institute, St. Joseph’s Hospital, London, ON, CanadaIvey Eye Institute, St. Joseph’s Hospital, London, ON, CanadaIvey Eye Institute, St. Joseph’s Hospital, London, ON, CanadaDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Western University, London, ON, CanadaIvey Eye Institute, St. Joseph’s Hospital, London, ON, CanadaDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, London Health Sciences Centre, London, ON, CanadaIntroductionDiabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common chronic complication of diabetes, the leading cause of vision impairments in working-aged adults, and a significant cause of reduced quality of life for diabetic patients. Diabetic patients are recommended to have regular screening in order to catch DR at an early enough stage for effective management. However, due to a variety of factors, many patients can still fall through the cracks with the current screening methods.MethodsSeveral long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), essential regulators of physiological and pathological processes, were previously identified by us as potential markers for DR phenotypes. In this study, we used a significantly larger sample set to validate our panel of lncRNAs. We also explored the possibility of creating a statistical model to detect DR from serum samples using the expression profiles of these lncRNAs.ResultsOur regression models, based solely on lncRNA expression data, demonstrated the ability to adequately detect DR and potentially predict it. Models based solely on lncRNA expression performed equally or better compared to models with additional patient information. The models showed promising performance, suggesting that serum lncRNA expression profiles could serve as reliable markers for DR detection.DiscussionFurther longitudinal studies are necessary to validate the model's capability to predict retinopathy in diabetic patients not yet diagnosed with DR. Nevertheless, our findings indicate that this lncRNA panel may offer a viable option for a simple, accessible, and convenient blood-based screening test for DR.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2025.1523997/fulllong non-coding RNAdiabetic retinopathyepigeneticsdiagnosisbiomarker
spellingShingle Eric Wang
Shali Chen
Anorin Ali
Biao Feng
Selina Liu
John Gonder
Tom Sheidow
Phil Hooper
Subrata Chakrabarti
Subrata Chakrabarti
Subrata Chakrabarti
Use of serum long non-coding RNA expression panel as a marker for diabetic retinopathy
Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine
long non-coding RNA
diabetic retinopathy
epigenetics
diagnosis
biomarker
title Use of serum long non-coding RNA expression panel as a marker for diabetic retinopathy
title_full Use of serum long non-coding RNA expression panel as a marker for diabetic retinopathy
title_fullStr Use of serum long non-coding RNA expression panel as a marker for diabetic retinopathy
title_full_unstemmed Use of serum long non-coding RNA expression panel as a marker for diabetic retinopathy
title_short Use of serum long non-coding RNA expression panel as a marker for diabetic retinopathy
title_sort use of serum long non coding rna expression panel as a marker for diabetic retinopathy
topic long non-coding RNA
diabetic retinopathy
epigenetics
diagnosis
biomarker
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2025.1523997/full
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