iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Giulia De Rossi @giuliaderossi.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Honoured to be among the recipients of the Academy of Medical Sciences Springboard Award!🎉 My lab will investigate how and why the tiny blood vessels at the back of the eye are lost with age. Thank you @acmedsci.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk @ucleye.bsky.social - looking forward to starting!!

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Reposted by Giulia De Rossi

UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences @uclbrainscience.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

👩🔬 Meet Dr @giuliaderossi.bsky.social, Senior Research Fellow at @ucleye.bsky.social. She speaks to us about her career highlights and why it's such an exciting time to work in the field of Ophthalmology. 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...

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Reposted by Giulia De Rossi

Reinhold Medina @reinholdmedina.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

🚀 Join the frontier of discovery! We’re hiring a skilled technician to work with world-leading scientists on cell ageing, stem cells & eye health. Be part of research shaping the future of medicine. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOM762/t...

jobs.ac.uk

Technician – Grade 5 at University of Liverpool

Find your next professional services job in higher education on jobs.ac.uk. Apply now for the Technician – Grade 5 role and more.

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Reposted by Giulia De Rossi

Hao Yin @haoyin.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

#DiabeticRetinopathy EC LRG1 ⏫Pericyte TGFβ▶️ Hypercontractile & matrix phenotype Lrg1 KO in hyperglycemic🐭 rescues 👉Retinal vascular permeability 👉⬇️Density φ Oxygenation in deep vasc plexus 👉⬇️ERG b-wave amp @giuliaderossi.bsky.social #ScienceTM 2025 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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Giulia De Rossi @giuliaderossi.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Have you really published if you haven't got the @haoyin.bsky.social mini summary 🤣 ? thank you, glad you liked it!

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Reposted by Giulia De Rossi

Science Magazine @science.org · 03/11/2025

The protein LRG1 acts as a critical player in the initial onset of diabetic retinopathy by disrupting TGF-beta signaling in pericytes and triggering pathological constriction of capillaries, according to new #ScienceTranslationalMedicine work in mice. scim.ag/3Jx6NRu

scim.ag

Leucine-rich α-2-glycoprotein 1 initiates the onset of diabetic retinopathy in mice

LRG1-driven microvascular dysfunction triggers early diabetic retinopathy, highlighting a potential therapeutic target.

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Reposted by Giulia De Rossi

Boca Scientific Inc. @bocascientificinc.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

A study from @ucleye.bsky.social has identified a key #protein that triggers diabetic retinopathy. The protein LRG1 is the cause of the early damage and targeting this could offer a way to protect vision. #Ophthalmology www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

science.org

Leucine-rich α-2-glycoprotein 1 initiates the onset of diabetic retinopathy in mice

LRG1-driven microvascular dysfunction triggers early diabetic retinopathy, highlighting a potential therapeutic target.

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Reposted by Giulia De Rossi

Professor Steve Moss @stephenemoss.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

Time for my weekly post, and today I report on some exciting new research from my lab. Especially for any diabetics out there. Important News from the World of Diabetes open.substack.com/pub/stephene...

open.substack.com

Important News from the World of Diabetes

A breakthrough in understanding sight loss

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Reposted by Giulia De Rossi

Science X / Phys.org @sciencex.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

A key protein has been identified as an early trigger of diabetic retinopathy, offering a potential new approach to prevent vision loss in people with diabetes before significant damage occurs. doi.org/g97skc

medicalxpress.com

Early trigger of diabetic eye disease identified

A team led by UCL scientists has identified a key protein that triggers diabetic retinopathy—a condition caused by high blood sugar damaging the retina's blood vessels and a leading cause of sight loss among working-age adults.

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Reposted by Giulia De Rossi

UCL News @uclnews.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

A team led by Dr @giuliaderossi.bsky.social @ucleye.bsky.social has identified a key protein that triggers diabetic retinopathy – a leading cause of sight loss among working-age adults – in a finding that has the potential to revolutionise how the disease is treated

ucl.ac.uk

Early trigger of diabetic eye disease identified

A team led by UCL scientists has identified a key protein that triggers diabetic retinopathy – a condition caused by high blood sugar damaging the retina’s blood vessels and a leading cause of sight l...

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Giulia De Rossi @giuliaderossi.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

So amazing to see our work on the cover of Science Translational Medicine!!

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Reposted by Giulia De Rossi

Science Magazine @science.org · 22/10/2025

The new issue of #ScienceTranslationalMedicine is out now! Mass production of regulatory T cells treats autoimmune disorders in mice, a preclinical study uncovers a promising therapeutic target in diabetic retinopathy, and more. scim.ag/3WeFm1R

The cover shows a flattened view of the mouse retinal deep vascular plexus, highlighting the microvascular tree (white).

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Reposted by Giulia De Rossi

UCL Translational Research Office @ucltro.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

@ucl.ac.uk scientists discover early trigger of diabetic eye disease, paving the way for new sight-saving treatments. The TRO is proud to support research projects like this by working closely with our academics and see the impactful work progressing for patient benefits. Full story: bit.ly/3Lo0vEk

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Reposted by Giulia De Rossi

John Greenwood @greenwoodjohn.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

Leucine-rich α-2-glycoprotein 1 initiates the onset of diabetic retinopathy in mice | Science Translational Medicine www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Our latest publication regarding LRG1. Congratulations to Dr De Rossi for her immense contribution. So proud to have made a significant contribution.

science.org

Leucine-rich α-2-glycoprotein 1 initiates the onset of diabetic retinopathy in mice

LRG1-driven microvascular dysfunction triggers early diabetic retinopathy, highlighting a potential therapeutic target.

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Giulia De Rossi @giuliaderossi.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

None of this would have been possible without the generous support of @diabetesuk.bsky.social, #moorfieldseyecharity, @ucltro.bsky.social and @wellcometrust.bsky.social 🙏 Also very grateful to @ucleye.bsky.social for being such an inspiring and supportive place to do science. 🧪

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Giulia De Rossi @giuliaderossi.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Finally — and most importantly — a single intravitreal injection of an LRG1-blocking antibody (15C4) significantly reduced all early vascular defects and restored visual function in diabetic mice. 🎯A potential early therapeutic strategy for preventing vision loss. 👁️

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Giulia De Rossi @giuliaderossi.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Although these vascular changes appear subtle, computational modelling revealed that they markedly impair retinal oxygenation, providing a mechanistic explanation for the reduced ERG responses seen in diabetic eyes.

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Giulia De Rossi @giuliaderossi.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

This LRG1-driven pericyte dysfunction leads to pathological microvascular remodelling. We see decreased capillary density and diameter. Interestingly, this is also seen in human DR patients at high risk of progressing to the advanced stage (Nicholson et al. JAMA 2019).

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Giulia De Rossi @giuliaderossi.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Once secreted, LRG1 acts on pericytes through TGFbeta signalling, driving them toward a more contractile and fibrotic phenotype. We observed increased myosin light chain activation and thickened basement membrane in diabetic wild-type mice, but not in those lacking Lrg1.

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Giulia De Rossi @giuliaderossi.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

So we moved to diabetic mice to investigate the source and the impact of excessive LRG1 production in diabetic retinas. We found that the inflamed retinal endothelium is the main source of LRG1 and that retinal Lrg1 expression is switched on months earlier than that of Vegf.

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Giulia De Rossi @giuliaderossi.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

We found that LRG1 is increased in retinas from people with diabetes and DR, corroborating several cross-sectional proteomic studies showing correlation between plasma and vitreous LRG1 with the duration of diabetes.

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Giulia De Rossi @giuliaderossi.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

We identified leucine-rich α-2-glycoprotein 1 (LRG1) as an initiator of early microvascular dysfunction in the diabetic retina and show that blocking LRG1 in mouse models of diabetes protects them from developing DR. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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Giulia De Rossi @giuliaderossi.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

📢Our new paper is out in @science.org #ScienceTranslationalMedicine 📢 Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a leading cause of blindness. Patients show vascular changes in their retinas long before vision starts to deteriorate. What triggers these early defects? Could targeting them prevent vision loss? 🧵

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Giulia De Rossi @giuliaderossi.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

And so it begins! 🎓 Emily’s PhD journey into shedding light on the fibrotic response in wet AMD. Huge thanks to @macularsociety.org for supporting this talented young scientist, and to @amandajcarr.bsky.social for co-supervising! 👏✨

Emily, a macular society funded phd student, working with cells

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Giulia De Rossi @giuliaderossi.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

What an absolute pleasure it’s been to host Precious in my lab these past few weeks! Honoured to play a small part in what I’m sure will be a stellar career. Huge thanks @diabetesuk.bsky.social and Windsor Fellowship for funding her internship.

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