VEGFA and diabetic retinopathy: VEGF, a hypoxia-induced factor is considered as one of the major growth factors in the development of diabetic retinopathy [13,14]; Diabetes-induced increase in VEGF plays a pivotal role in the increased cell permeability during the early stages of diabetic retinopathy, and in later stages of the disease VEGF is implicated in the angiogenesis.