Studies have shown that the activation of ERK1/2 in diabetic retina promotes the expression of histone deacetylases 6 (HDAC6), thereby increasing the level of apoptosis and autophagy, and these pathological changes can be mitigated by inhibiting the ERK1/2 signaling pathway (Cai et al., 2017). The gene discussed is HDAC6; the disease is diabetes mellitus.