PHD2 attenuates high-glucose-induced blood retinal barrier breakdown in human retinal microvascular endothelial cells by regulating the Hif-1α/VEGF pathway.

These results demonstrated that PHD2 inhibited HIF-1 activity by inhibiting HIF-1α expression in hRMECs under hyperglycemic conditions, which led to the downregulation of the expression of the angiogenic factor VEGF, and thus helped to maintain the functions of hRMECs. Therefore, it is reasonable to propose that PHD2 could be a potential novel target for the treatment of DME or other diseases with a similar pathogenesis.