Expression of the erythropoietin receptor in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy and its correlation with postoperative visual prognosis.

BACKGROUND: Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is a leading cause of blindness. This study aimed to analyze the expression of the erythropoietin receptor (EpoR) in patients with PDR and its correlation with postoperative visual prognosis. METHODS: Between May 2016 and May 2017, 89 patients who underwent vitreoretinal surgery (VRS) in Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College were enrolled. Among them, 45 patients (52 eyes) with PDR and 44 patients (50 eyes) with retinal vein occlusion (RVO) made up the study group and the control group, respectively. All patients received 25G standard flattened three-channel lens-preserving VRS; all procedures were performed by the same physician. Recovery and change in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were observed. Subsequently, the patients were divided into group A (improved vision) and group B (no improvement in vision). The integrated optical density (IOD) value of EpoR expression among the groups were compared. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between the IOD values of EpoR and the change in visual acuity after surgery for PDR. RESULTS: The IOD value of EpoR in the study group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). The postoperative BCVA of the PDR patients was significantly higher than that before surgery (≥0.1 vs. ≤0.02, P<0.05). Of the 45 PDR patients (52 eyes), 34 patients (39 eyes) had improved visual acuity after surgery (group A), while 11 patients (13 eyes) experienced no improvement (group B). The IOD value of EpoR expression in group B was higher than that in group A (P<0.05). Pearson's correlation analysis showed that the IOD value of EpoR expression were positively correlated with the recovery. CONCLUSIONS: EpoR is expressed at a high level in PDR patients. The expression level of EpoR in the epiretinal membrane of PDR patients is positively correlated with the prognosis of postoperative vision. Therefore, EpoR has promise as a prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for PDR.