SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Ophthalmol.
Sec. Retina
Systematic review on biomarker potential of vitreous microRNA in retinal disease
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, United States
- 2University of Rochester David and Ilene Flaum Eye Institute, Rochester, United States
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The vitreous fluid, situated in the posterior chamber of the eye, holds a close relationship with the inner reti-na. Within this milieu, retinal cells secrete a diverse array of biomolecules, potentially harboring vital bi-omarkers. Among these, short, non-coding micro-RNAs (miRNAs) emerge as promising candidates. Their dy-namic regulation by various gene signaling mechanisms, enhanced resistance to degradation, and secretion via separate exocytotic pathways make them particularly significant. Alterations in vitreal miRNA profiles may reflect pathological states and offer insights into disease etiology and progression. Here, we conducted a comprehensive survey of 22 peer-reviewed studies to assess the potential of vitreous miRNAs as bi-omarkers for retinal diseases. Our analysis demonstrates the utility of miRNAs as biomarkers in specific reti-nal pathologies. We show that miR-142, miR-9, and miR-21 are robust biomarker candidates, displaying con-sistent and significant alterations correlating with proliferative vitreoretinal diseases. We also address the methodological challenges encountered in characterizing vitreous miRNA content, including the absence of standardized purification, amplification, and analysis protocols, as well as the scarcity of true control sam-ples. Moreover, we recommend the adoption of specific housekeeping genes and data normalization tech-niques to standardize miRNA analysis in the vitreous and explore potential methodologies for obtaining vit-reous samples from healthy individuals. We conclude that vitreous miRNAs hold promise as potential bi-omarkers for various retinal diseases, with miR-142, miR-9, and miR-21 emerging as promising candidates. Enhancing methodologies for vitreous sampling and miRNA analysis presents an opportunity to expand the repertoire and utility of miRNA biomarkers in retinal disease diagnosis and prognosis.
Keywords: Retina, microRNA, degeneration, Ophthalmology, Vitrous humour, Biopsy
Received: 22 Jul 2025; Accepted: 03 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Joseph, Grover and Telias. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Michael Telias, michael_telias@urmc.rochester.edu
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