Circular RNA HIPK3: an emerging player in diabetes

With rapid global aging, the occurrence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and its associated complications, including diabetic retinopathy (DR), is also increasing. DR is one of the major complications of DM and a leading cause of visual impairment in developed countries (1). DR-induced visual impairment is usually accompanied by vascular hyperpermeability, inflammation, neovascularization, retinal ischemia, and vascular cell dysfunction (2-4), and it has become a primary cause leading to blindness.