In ocular diseases like DR and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the signaling cascades enhance the accumulation of inflammatory and angiogenic cytokines, including extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) (17), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) (18), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) (19), intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) (20), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) (21), reactive oxygen species (ROS) (22), advanced glycation end products (AGEs) (23), and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP[H]). The gene discussed is VEGFA; the disease is age-related macular degeneration.