Open AccessBlood-retinal barrier as a converging pivot in understanding the initiation and development of retinal diseases
Author(s) -
Xue Yang,
Xiaowei Yu,
Dandan Zhang,
Zhipeng Fan
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chinese medical journal/chinese medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.537
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 2542-5641
pISSN - 0366-6999
DOI - 10.1097/cm9.0000000000001015
Subject(s) - retinal , blood–retinal barrier , diabetic retinopathy , medicine , disease , retina , uveitis , glaucoma , retinal degeneration , neuroscience , ophthalmology , bioinformatics , pathology , biology , diabetes mellitus , endocrinology
Clinical ophthalmologists consider each retinal disease as a completely unique entity. However, various retinal diseases, such as uveitis, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and primary open-angle glaucoma, share a number of common pathogenetic pathways. Whether a retinal disease initiates from direct injury to the blood-retinal barrier (BRB) or a defect/injury to retinal neurons or glia that impairs the BRB secondarily, the BRB is a pivotal point in determining the prognosis as self-limiting and recovering, or developing and progressing to a clinical phenotype. The present review summarizes our current knowledge on the physiology and cellular and molecular pathology of the BRB, which underlies its pivotal role in the initiation and development of common retinal diseases.