Abstract:Objective: To explore the relationship between serum Delta-like ligand 4 (DLL4) and complement C1q/tumor necrosis factor-related protein 5 (CTRP5) with disease condition and visual disability of patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR). Methods: Totally 245 DR patients admitted from January 2022 to January 2024 were selected as the study subjects. They were assigned into the proliferative DR group (95 cases) and the non proliferative DR group (150 cases) based on their condition, and followed up for 1 year. Complying with the degree of visual disability, they were assigned into the visual disability group (39 cases) and the non visual disability group (206 cases). ELISA was used to detect serum DLL4 and CTRP5. The data and serum DLL4 and CTRP5 were compared among patients with different medical conditions and visual disabilities. Pearson method was used to explore the correlation between serum DLL4, CTRP5 and glucose and lipid metabolism indicators. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to explore the influencing factors of visual disability in DR. ROC curve was performed to explore the value of serum DLL4 and CTRP5 in predicting visual disability in DR. Results: The proliferative DR group had longer duration of DR, higher FPG, TG, TC, LDL-C, and serum DLL4 and CTRP5, and lower HDL-C than the non proliferative DR group (P<0.05). The serum DLL4 was unusually positively correlated with FPG, while the serum CTRP5 was prominently positively correlated with FPG, TG, TC, LDL-C, and prominently negatively correlated with HDL-C (P<0.05). The visual disability group had longer duration of DR and higher serum DLL4 and CTRP5 than the non visual disability group (P<0.05). The duration of DR and serum DLL4 and CTRP5 were influencing factors for visual disability in DR (P<0.05). The joint of serum DLL4 and CTRP5 had a higher value in predicting visual disability in DR patients than single indicator prediction (ZDLL4 - joint=3.018, PDLL4 - joint=0.003; ZCTRP5 - joint=2.784, PCTRP5 - joint=0.005). Conclusion: Serum DLL4 and CTRP5 are elevated in DR patients, and are closely related to the disease condition. The joint detection of serum DLL4 and CTRP5 has high value in predicting visual disability in DR patients.
