AIM: To investigate the level changes of serum Chemerin in patients with diabetic retinopathy(DR)and explore its role in the development of DR.

METHODS: A total of 90 diabetes patients from January 2012 to December 2013 were enrolled, including non-diabetic retinopathy(NDR,n=30), simple diabetic retinopathy(SDR, n=30), proliferative diabetic retinopathy(PDR, n=30). Thirty healthy persons were included as normal control(NC). Chemerin level, tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), adiponectin were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Clinical characters including BMI, underlying diseases, blood lipids ect. were collected.

RESULTS: The serum levels of Chemerin in NC, NDR, SDR, and PDR group were 12.35±3.56, 26.50±5.34, 34.67±7.72, 40.97±8.97μg/L respectively. The serum levels of Chemerin in SDR and PDR group were significantly higher than those in NC and NDR group(P<0.01). Serum levels of Chemerin positively correlated with TNF-α(r=0.8746, P<0.01)and negatively correlated with adiponectin(r=-0.7418,P<0.01). The results of Logistic regression analysis showed that Chemerin was an independent risk factor for DR(OR=8.458, 95%CI: 1.611～44.410, P=0.012).

CONCLUSION: The results show that serum Chemerin level is significantly elevated in DR patients, and Chemerin may be involved in the development of DR.