Abstract: Objective To detect the expression levels of minute RNA-let-7e-5p(miR-let-7e-5p-p) and long-chain non-coding nuclear-rich transcript 1(LncRNA NEAT1) in the plasma of patients with type 2 diabetes(T2DM), and to discuss its relationship with diabetic retinopathy(DR). 
Methods In total, 126 T2DM patients admitted to our hospital were selected and included in the study. They were divided into DR group(n=84) and non-DR group(n=42) according to presence of DR, and non-proliferative DR(NPDR) group(n=31) and proliferative DR(PDR) group(n=53) according to DR classification criteria. The expression levels of miR-let-7e-5p and LncRNA NEAT1 in plasma of T2DM patients were detected by fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction（PCR）, and the difference in miR-let-7e-5p and LncRNA NEAT1 expression levels were compared between the groups. Pearson correlation coefficient analysis was used to analyze the correlation of miR-let-7e-5p and LncRNA NEAT1 in the DR group, and diagnostic value of miR-let-7e-5p and LncRNA NEAT1 in DR was detected by receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve. 
Results Compared with the non-DR patients, both PDR and NPDR patients had reduced expression levels of plasma miR-let-7e-5p , and increased expression level of LncRNA NEAT1(P＜0.05). Compared with the NPDR group, plasma miR-let-7e-5p expression levels were decreased in the PDR group, while LncRNA NEAT1 expression level was increased(P＜0.05). Plasma miR-let-7e-5p was inversely associated with LncRNA NEAT1 in DR patients(r=-0.534, P＜0.05). The area under the ROC curve(AUC) of the miR-let-7e-5p in the diagnosis of DR was 0.856(95%CI: 0.789-0.924), the sensitivity was 77.38%, and the specificity was 80.95%. The AUC of LncRNA NEAT1 in the diagnosis of DR was 0.844(95%CI: 0.778-0.910), with the sensitivity of 69.05% and the specificity of 95.24%. The AUC of the combined detection of the two in the diagnosis of DR was 0.935(95%CI: 0.891-0.978), with the sensitivity of 88.10% and the specificity of 92.86%. The combined detection had a high diagnostic efficacy for DR patients. 
Conclusion miR-let-7e-5p and LncRNA NEAT1 are related to the occurrence and progression of DR in T2DM patients, and may serve as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of DR, and the combination has better diagnostic efficacy. 

Key words: diabetic retinopathy, microRNA-let-7e-5p, diagnosis