Cai et al. show that an increase of SNHG16 in the high glucose-stimulated hRMECs promotes the proliferative diabetic retinopathy-related abnormalities in cell proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis via modulation of miR-146a-5p/interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 1 (IRAK1) and miR-7-5p/insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) to activate NF-κB and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways, respectively [89]. Here, IRAK1 is linked to diabetic retinopathy.