Western blotting showed that VEGF protein expression in the DM group was significantly reduced compared to the control group (1.0 ± 0.14 vs 0.42 ± 0.16, P = 0.0306; Fig. 6A), while VEGF protein expression in the DMES group was significantly increased compared to the DM group (1.3 ± 0.43 vs 0.42 ± 0.16, P = 0.0029; Fig. 6A; original band: Fig. S1). Here, VEGFA is linked to diabetes mellitus.