Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) was significantly increased in retinal endothelial cells of STZ-induced diabetic rats and db/db mice or high glucose treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) (Liu et al., 2014; Yan et al., 2014; Puthanveetil et al., 2015) indicating its involvement in the development of diabetic retinopathy and endothelial dysfunction. Here, MALAT1 is linked to diabetic retinopathy.