Emerging role of ferroptosis in diabetic retinopathy: a review

BACKGROUND: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a significant complication of diabetes and the primary cause of blindness among working age adults globally. The development of DR is accompanied by oxidative stress, characterised by an overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and a compromised antioxidant system. Clinical interventions aimed at mitigating oxidative stress through ROS scavenging or elimination are currently available. Nevertheless, these treatments merely provide limited management over the advanced stage of the illness. Ferroptosis is a distinctive form of cell death induced by oxidative stress, which is characterised by irondependent phospholipid peroxidation. PURPOSE: This review aims to synthesise recent experimental evidence to examine the involvement of ferroptosis in the pathological processes of DR, as well as to explicate the regulatory pathways governing oxidative stress and ferroptosis in retina. METHODS: We systematically reviewed literature available up to 2023. RESULTS: This review included 12 studies investigating the involvement of ferroptosis in DR.