AUTHOR=Meng Chunren, Gu Chufeng, He Shuai, Su Tong, Lhamo Thashi, Draga Deji, Qiu Qinghua TITLE=Pyroptosis in the Retinal Neurovascular Unit: New Insights Into Diabetic Retinopathy JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=12 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.763092 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2021.763092 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is prevalent among people with long-term diabetes mellitus (DM) and remains the leading cause of visual impairment in working-aged people. DR is related to chronic low-level inflammatory reactions. Pyroptosis is an emerging type of inflammatory cell death mediated by gasdermin D (GSDMD), NOD-like receptors and inflammatory caspases that promote interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-18 release. In addition, the retinal neurovascular unit (NVU) is the functional basis of the retina. Recent studies have shown that pyroptosis may participate in the destruction of retinal NVU cells in simulated hyperglycemic DR environments. In this review, we will clarify the importance of pyroptosis in the retinal NVU during the development of DR.