In diabetic retinopathy, H3K18la mediates the upregulation of fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO), which promotes cell cycle progression by targeting cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) to drive angiogenesis in vitro, as well as in mice and zebrafish, leading to diabetic microvascular leakage (Chen X. et al., 2024). This evidence concerns the gene CDK2 and diabetic retinopathy.