Correlations of serum hypoxia-inducible factor 1α, vascular endothelial growth factor, and stromal cell-derived factor-1 levels with microvascular injury in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy

Abstract Background Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is characterized by pathological neovascularization and microvascular damage driven by hypoxia-related mechanisms. We aimed to explore the correlations of serum hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) levels with microvascular injury in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Methods Subjects (150 in total) with type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic retinopathy (DR) who were treated at our hospital between January 2023 and June 2024 were assigned to a proliferative DR (PDR) group (n=82) and a non-proliferative DR (NPDR) group (n=68). Comparisons were carried out on the general data, microvascular endothelial function [circulating endothelial cells (CEC), endothelial progenitor cells (EPC), and circulating progenitor cells (CPC)], and serum HIF-1α, VEGF and SDF-1 between the two groups. Results High expressions of serum HIF-1α, VEGF, and SDF-1 were associated with an increased risk of PDR of 2.465, 3.132, and 2.592 times, respectively ( p