Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40293350›Full record

ArticleJournal of cellular and molecular medicine2025

Target Screening and Single Cell Analysis of Diabetic Retinopathy and Hepatocarcinoma.

Yinan Shao, Bingfen Duan, Haotian Li, Xiaonan Li, Shijing Peng, Haowen Zheng, Zhipeng You

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of cellular and molecular medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Yinan ShaoSchool of Optometry, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.ORCID 0009-0004-0618-9171
Bingfen DuanSchool of Optometry, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.
Haotian LiThe First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, Baotou, China.
Xiaonan LiSchool of Optometry, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.
Shijing PengSchool of Optometry, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.
Haowen ZhengSchool of Optometry, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.
Zhipeng YouSchool of Optometry, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The association between liver cancer and diabetes has been a longstanding focus in medical research. Current evidence suggests that diabetes is an independent risk factor for the development of liver cancer. Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a prevalent neurovascular complication of diabetes, has yet to be fully characterised concerning liver cancer. Therefore, this study seeks to identify shared genes and pathways between liver cancer and DR to uncover potential therapeutic targets. Immune infiltration and cell communication in liver cancer were analysed using the GEO single-cell dataset GSM7494113. Single-cell RNA sequencing data from rat retinas were obtained from the GEO datasets GSE209872 and GSE160306. Ferritin phagocytosis-related genes were retrieved from the GeneCards database. The SeuratR package was employed for single-cell clustering analysis, while the CellChat package assessed differences in intercellular communication. Genes shared between DR and liver cancer were identified, and the DGIDB database was consulted to predict potential drug-gene interactions targeting membrane proteins involved in ferritin phagocytosis. Key ferritin phagocytosis (FRHG) genes were further validated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). After annotating the single-cell data through dimensionality reduction and clustering, the expression of genes associated with membrane protein-related ferritinophagy was notably elevated in both HCC and DR samples. Based on the expression of ferritinophagy-related genes, the ferritin deposition score in Müller cells from the DR group was significantly higher than that in the control group. Cell communication analysis revealed that central hub genes associated with ferritinophagy, such as PSAP and MK, along with other signalling pathways, were significantly upregulated in the high Müller group compared to the low Müller group. In contrast, VEGF expression was enhanced in the low Müller group. Importantly, the machine learning model constructed using these key hub genes demonstrated high diagnostic efficacy for both HCC and DR. Finally, by simulating a hyperosmotic diabetic microenvironment, we confirmed in vitro that high glucose conditions significantly stimulate the expression of the shared key hub genes in both HCC and DR. The present study identified the connection between ferritinophagy-related subgroups of cells and key hub genes in both HCC and DR, providing new insights into DR-associated biomarkers and the shared pathological regulatory pathways with HCC. These findings further suggest potential therapeutic targets for both diseases.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, HepatocellularDiabetic RetinopathyLiver NeoplasmsSingle-Cell AnalysisAnimalsFerritinsGene Expression ProfilingGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticGene Regulatory NetworksHumansPhagocytosisRatsFerritinsdiabetic retinopathyferritin phagocytosisliver cancerMüller cells

Identifiers

PMID40293350
PMCPMC12128161

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.