Marker for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy and use thereof

Abstract

The present invention relates to a marker which can be used to diagnose a diabetic retinopathy patient and determine the progression of diabetic retinopathy, a composition for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy, which comprises an agent for measuring the level of a gene or protein associated with the marker, and the use thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . At least one marker for diabetic retinopathy, the marker selected from a group consisting of C7 (complement component C7), ITIH2 (inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor heavy chain H2) and C5 (complement C5). 
     
     
         2 . The marker of  claim 1 , wherein the diabetic retinopathy is non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy. 
     
     
         3 . A composition for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy, comprising an agent for measuring the mRNA or protein level of at least one gene selected from the group consisting of C7 (complement component C7), ITIH2 (inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor heavy chain H2) and C5 (complement C5). 
     
     
         4 . The composition of  claim 3 , wherein the diabetic retinopathy is non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy. 
     
     
         5 . The composition of  claim 3 , wherein the agent for measuring the mRNA level of the gene is a primer pair, a probe or an antisense nucleotide, which binds specifically to the gene. 
     
     
         6 . The composition of  claim 3 , wherein the agent for measuring the protein level includes an antibody, an interacting protein, a ligand, nanoparticles or an aptamer, which binds specifically to the protein or a peptide fragment. 
     
     
         7 . A kit for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy, which comprises the composition of  claim 3 . 
     
     
         8 . A kit for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy, which comprises the composition of  claim 4 . 
     
     
         9 . A kit for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy, which comprises the composition of  claim 5 . 
     
     
         10 . A kit for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy, which comprises the composition of  claim 6 . 
     
     
         11 . A method for providing information for diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy, the method comprising the steps of: measuring the expression level of at least one gene or its protein, selected from the group consisting of C7 (complement component C7), ITIH2 (inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor heavy chain H2) and C5 (complement C5), in a biological sample; and comparing the expression level of the gene or its protein with that in a normal control sample. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising a step of diagnosing the biological sample as diabetic retinopathy when the expression level of the gene or its protein in the biological sample decreases compared to that in the normal control sample.