PAMpeR · Patroller monocytes as modulators of diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is the first vascular complication of diabetes and the leading cause of legal blindness among adults in Europe. The fact that diabetic retinopathy is preceded by a long latency period has suggested to us that its natural history could incorporate a phase of vascular repair, active after short duration of diabetes and eventually losing efficacy over time. “Patroller” monocytes, a discrete subpopulation of circulating monocytes, patrol healthy vessels by “crawling” on the endothelium at a speed that is order of magnitude lower than rolling, and at variance with the ""classic"" monocyte subset produce preferentially housekeeping and trophic factors rather than inflammatory cytokines. Our preliminary data strongly support a role of patrollers, in protecting and repairing retinal vessels in diabetes