Diabetes is a systemic disease that causes a number of metabolic and physiologic abnormalities. One of the major microvascular\r\ncomplications of diabetes is diabetic retinopathy (DR), a leading cause of blindness in people over age 50. The mechanisms\r\nunderlying the development of DR are not fully understood; however, extensive studies have recently implicated chronic, lowgrade\r\ninflammation in the pathophysiology of DR. During inflammation leukocytes undergo sequential adhesive interactions with\r\nendothelial cells to migrate into the inflamed tissues, a process known as the ââ?¬Å?leukocyte recruitment cascadeââ?¬Â which is orchestrated\r\nby precise adhesion molecule expression on the cell surface of leukocytes and the endothelium. This paper summarizes the recent\r\nclinical and preclinical works on the roles of leukocyte adhesion molecules in DR.
Loading....