Ocular surface microbiota in patients with varying degrees of dry eye severity

Abstract

AIM: To elucidate the profiles of commensal bacteria on the ocular surfaces of patients with varying severity of dry eye (DE). METHODS: The single-center, prospective, case-control, observational study categorized all participants into three distinct groups: 1) control group (n=61), 2) mild DE group (n=56), and 3) moderate-to-severe DE group (n=82). Schirmer's tear secretion strips were used, and the bacterial microbiota was analyzed using 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid gene sequencing. RESULTS: The three groups had significant differences in alpha diversity: the control group had the highest richness (Chao1, Faith's phylogenetic diversity), the mild DE group showed the highest diversity (Shannon, Simpson), and the moderate-to-severe DE group had the lowest of the above-mentioned indices. DE severity was positively correlated with a reduction in beta diversity of the microbial community, with the moderate-to-severe DE group exhibiting the lowest beta diversity. Linear discriminant analysis effect size presented distinct dominant taxa that significantly differed between each. Furthermore, the exacerbation of DE corresponded with the enrichment of certain pathogenic bacteria, as determined by random forest analysis. CONCLUSION: As DE severity worsens, microbial community diversity tends to decrease. DE development corresponds with changes in microbial constituents, primarily characterized by reduced microbial diversity and a more homogenous species composition.

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“…The occurrence of DE is related to environmental exposure, diet, video display terminal use, autoimmunity and other factors (Jung et al., 2024). Artificial tears are the first choice of treatment for DE (Zou et al., 2023). However, because artificial tears cannot completely imitate all the components of natural tears, their curative effects may be limited to a certain extent (Zhang et al., 2023).…”

Classical and Innovative Evidence for Therapeutic Strategies in Retinal Dysfunctions

“…If these data are confirmed, in the next few years, the characterization of the ocular microbiota could become an additional test to complete the diagnosis and to discover useful information to guide the therapy. Dry eye, for example, is a common condition, caused by the inadequate lubrication of the eye by tears [175,176]. This condition causes inflammation and damage to the eye surface, without an obvious infection.…”