Compared with NPDR patients, PDR patients had lower serum levels of miR-15b and higher levels of VEGF, and in the HRMECs model of DR, increased miR-15b inhibited neovascularization by a mechanism in which miR-15b negatively regulates the expression of the downstream target gene VEGF [44]. The gene discussed is VEGFA; the disease is non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy.