Petrillo Francesco, Pignataro Danilo, Lavano Maria Annunziata, Santella Biagio, Folliero Veronica, Zannella Carla, Astarita Carlo, Gagliano Caterina, Franci Gianluigi, Avitabile Teresio, Galdiero Marilena
Section of Ophthalmology, University Hospital "Policlinico-Vittorio Emanuele", 95123 Catania, Italy.
Section of Microbiology and Virology, University Hospital "Luigi Vanvitelli", 80138 Naples, Italy.
Microorganisms. 2020 Jul 13;8(7):1033. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms8071033.
The ocular surface microbiota refers to the resident non-pathogenic microorganisms that colonize conjunctiva and cornea. Several studies have shown that ocular surface epithelial cells can respond selectively to specific components of ocular pathogenic bacteria by producing pro-inflammatory cytokines and, in contrast, they do not respond to non-pathogenic bacteria, thus supporting the colonization by a real microbiota. However, the analysis of the ocular microbiome composition is essential for understanding the pathophysiology of various ophthalmic diseases. In this scenario, the first studies, which used microbiological culture techniques, reported a less diverse profile of the ocular microbiota compared with that recently discovered using new molecular-based methods. Indeed, until a few years ago, the microbiota of the ocular surface appeared to be dominated by Gram-positive and a few Gram-negative bacteria, as well as some fungal strains. In contrast, genomics has nowadays detected a remarkable diversity in the ocular surface microorganisms. Furthermore, recent studies suggest that the microbiota of other areas of the body, such as the gut and oral microbiota, are involved in the pathophysiology of several ophthalmic diseases. The aim of the present study is to highlight the current evidence on the ocular surface microbiota to better understand it and to investigate its potential role in the development of ophthalmic diseases.
眼表微生物群是指定植于结膜和角膜的常驻非致病微生物。多项研究表明，眼表上皮细胞可通过产生促炎细胞因子对眼部致病细菌的特定成分做出选择性反应，相反，它们对非致病细菌无反应，从而支持真正微生物群的定植。然而，分析眼微生物组的组成对于理解各种眼科疾病的病理生理学至关重要。在这种情况下，最初使用微生物培养技术的研究报告称，与最近使用新的基于分子的方法发现的情况相比，眼微生物群的多样性较低。事实上，直到几年前，眼表微生物群似乎主要由革兰氏阳性菌、少数革兰氏阴性菌以及一些真菌菌株组成。相比之下，如今基因组学已检测到眼表微生物具有显著的多样性。此外，最近的研究表明，身体其他部位的微生物群，如肠道和口腔微生物群，参与了多种眼科疾病的病理生理学过程。本研究的目的是强调关于眼表微生物群的当前证据，以便更好地了解它，并研究其在眼科疾病发展中的潜在作用。
