Figure 5.

Semaphorins in diabetic retinopathy. Several semaphorin family members are involved in diabetic retinopathy. Sema3A is secreted by retina glia cells and bind to Nrp1 on endothelial cells to induce vascular permeability. Sema3E is secreted by neural cells in retina and binds to PlexinD1 on endothelial cells and normalizes angiogenic directionality in the retina. Sema4D on retina glia cells can be cleaved and secreted as soluble Sema4D. Soluble Sema4D binds to PlexinB1 on pericytes and induces pericyte loss and vascular leakage.