Serum Biomarkers in Diabetic Retinopathy

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were recruited, from 2011 to 2014, at the Metabolic Disease Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, the Tianjin People's Hospital, and the Eye Hospital of Tianjin Medical University (Wei et al, 2016 (link)), and their retinal complications were independently diagnosed by two experienced ophthalmologists. T2DM was defined as fasting plasma glucose ≥ 7.0 mmol/L, and/or 2‐h oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) ≥ 11.1 mmol/L, or the use of anti‐diabetic medicine. Serum samples were collected for medical tests and written consent was obtained from all patients. The procedure was approved by the Human Ethics Committee of Tianjin Medical University (TMUhMEC2020034) in accordance with the Helsinki declaration and the principles set out in the Department of Health and Human Services Belmont Report. Serum levels of 15‐keto‐dihydro‐PGF_2α and TXB₂ were determined using the 13, 14‐dihydro‐15‐keto PGF_2α ELISA Kit (Cayman, 516671) and TXB₂ ELISA Kit (Cayman, 501020), respectively, according to the manufacturer's instructions.