Emerging Biomarkers of Retinal Toxicity

Further validation of these potential retinal miRNA biomarkers will be needed in additional toxicological species, for example, dog and monkey, following treatments with a variety of retinal toxicants, as well as possible studies in laser-induced choroid neovascularization (CNV) and streptozotocin-induced diabetic retinopathy ocular disease models (Rittenhouse et al., 2014). Understanding the temporal and spatial relationships between retinal injuries and circulating miRNAs will be critical to fuUy understand the specificity, sensitivity, predictivity, and reliability of these biomarkers. Further evaluation of the translatability of circulating miRNA toxicity biomarkers in humans will be exciting as the next tier of retinal miRNA biomarker research. Finally, in addition to retinal miRNA biomarkers, there is the need to establish and validate other ocular tissue-specific miRNA biomarkers, for cornea, iris/ciliary body, and lens. 

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