Elevated plasma and vitreous levels of leucine‐rich‐α2‐glycoprotein are associated with diabetic retinopathy progression

Purpose To investigate the association of plasma and vitreous leucine‐rich‐α2‐glycoprotein (LRG1) with diabetic retinopathy (DR) progression. Methods A total of 86 outpatients and 33 inpatients were recruited. Outpatients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were classified as T2DM without DR (n = 22), nonproliferative DR (NPDR) (n = 20) and proliferative DR (PDR) (n = 22) based on international clinical DR severity scales. A total of 86 plasma and 33 vitreous samples were collected and subjected to enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. The diagnostic value of plasma LRG1 was tested using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results Plasma LRG1 in PDR patients (9025 ± 1870 pg/ml) was significantly increased as compared with controls (5975 ± 2022 pg/ml), T2DM without DR (6550 ± 2359 pg/ml) and NPDR patients (6550 ± 2359 pg/ml) (p