Abstract

Background Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a major complication of diabetes leading to severe visual impairment. PANoptosis, a pro-inflammatory programmed cell death (PCD), has emerged as a potential pathological mechanism. This study aimed to elucidate the role of membrane protein-mediated PANoptosis in key cell populations during DR progression and to screen for coregulated genes with therapeutic potential.Methods We integrated rat single-cell (scRNA-seq) and human bulk transcriptomes to identify differentially expressed PANoptosis-related genes (DE-PRGs). Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) was used to score PANoptosis activity, and CellChat was employed to examine ligand-receptor communications. Key cell subpopulations were characterized, and a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed to identify hub genes. Drug targets were predicted via the DGIDB database. Key findings were validated in a DR rat model and high-glucose-treated retinal Müller cells (RMC-1) using qRT-PCR, Western blotting, cell death assays, and siRNA-mediated PSAP knockdown.Results We identified 27 DE-PRGs enriched in TNF, PCD, and p53 signaling pathways. Müller cells exhibited significantly elevated PANoptosis scores in the DR group. Intercellular communication analysis indicated that Müller cells transmit pro-apoptotic signals via the PSAP-GPR37 ligand-receptor axis. Sub-clustering identified “Müller2” as the key pathogenic subpopulation, characterized by high PSAP-GPR37 expression. Ten hub genes were screened, yielding 26 potential drug targets. Validation confirmed the downregulation of DLG4 and the upregulation of FN1, EMP3, PDGFRβ, and PSAP in DR models. In vitro, high glucose induced cell death and upregulated PANoptosis markers (NLRP3, cleaved caspase-8, and the p-MLKL/MLKL ratio). Notably, siRNA-mediated PSAP knockdown effectively attenuated the high glucose-induced elevation of these PANoptosis proteins.Conclusion Integrating single-cell and bulk transcri