Advancement in diabetic eye disease research creates critical opportunity for sight-saving treatments
22 October 2025
In partnership with Diabetes UK and Wellcome, we have supported a groundbreaking new research study, published in Science Translational Medicine, that has identified the key protein that triggers diabetic retinopathy.
Researchers at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology have discovered that a protein called LRG1 plays a critical role in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy.
What is diabetic retinopathy?
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Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes, damaging the back of the eye (retina).
It can cause blindness if left undiagnosed and untreated. Anyone with type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes is potentially at risk of developing diabetic retinopathy.
You will not usually notice diabetic retinopathy in the early stages, as it does not tend to have any obvious symptoms until it’s more advanced. It is a leading cause of sight loss in working-age adults.
LRG1 causes the cells that wrap around the eye’s smallest blood vessels to constrict excessively and ‘squeeze’ them tightly, reducing oxygen supply to the retina. This initiates the process of long-term sight loss.
This discovery could revolutionise how we treat diabetic retinopathy- shifting the focus of treatment from managing late-stage damage to preventing vision loss before it has a chance to occur.
When the researchers blocked the LRG1 protein in model mice of diabetes, they were able to prevent early damage and keep the eye healthy and functional.
Our discovery shows that diabetic eye disease starts earlier than we thought, and LRG1 is a key culprit in this early damage. Targeting this protein could give us a way to protect vision before serious damage occurs and prevent, rather than treat, blindness in millions of people living with diabetes.
Dr Giulia De Rossi, Senior Research Fellow at UCL, and Diabetes UK RD Lawrence Fellow
Image courtesy of De Rossi et al.
Diabetic retinopathy affects people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and is usually only treated once symptoms, like blurred or distorted vision, have already started to present in patients.
However, by this point, irreversable damage has already been done to the eye.
Current therapies, that target a different protein- VEGF- are only successful for 50% of patients and don’t often reverse damage to the eye in a way that is impactful for the patient.
The new research from Dr De Rossi and her team shows that LRG1 starts damaging the retina much earlier than VEGF, making it a much better entry point for making new therapies for diabetic retinopathy.
The early stages of diabetic retinopathy are often difficult to detect, leaving many people with irreversible damage once the symptoms have occurred. This research offers an important and vital next step in helping to prevent this disease, offering the chance to save the sight of millions of people living with diabetes now and in the future.
Dr Ailish Murray, Director of grants and research at Moorfields Eye Charity
Unlike the current treatments that target VEGF, these new treatments could prevent vision loss and stop diabetic retinopathy from progressing altogether.
The research group has already developed a drug that targets LRG1, which is currently undergoing pre-clinical trials and it could potentially be ready for human clinical trials in the near future.
They believe that this drug could not only halt the process of diabetic retinopathy early in development, but can also be effective in later stages of the disease where LRG1 still plays a role.
Nearly a third of adults with diabetes have some signs of retinopathy, and it is one of the most feared complications of the condition. By identifying the root cause of early damage, and offering a new path for treatment, this research holds immense promise for protecting the sight of the growing number of people with diabetes worldwide.
Dr Faye Riley, Research Communications Lead at Diabetes UK
Image courtesy of De Rossi et al.
This is an exciting breakthrough, lighting a potential path towards treatment for diabetic eye disease. These findings are a result of cutting-edge discovery research and demonstrate the importance of backing early science that could translate to meaningful advances in medicine.
Morag Foreman, Head of Discovery Researchers at Wellcome
To find out more about this amazing research, click here to read the paper in Science Translational Medicine.
