Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA.
School of Optometry, University of Alabama At Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Sci Rep. 2020 Jul 21;10(1):12035. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-68952-w.
Dry eye affects millions of individuals. In experimental models, dry eye disease is associated with T helper cell 17-mediated inflammation of the ocular surface that may cause persistent damage to the corneal epithelium. However, the initiating and perpetuating factors associated with chronic inflammation of the ocular surface remain unclear. The ocular microbiota alters ocular surface inflammation and may influence dry eye disease development and progression. Here, we collected serial samples of tears on awakening from sleep, closed eye tears, during a randomized clinical trial of a non-pharmaceutical dry eye therapy and used 16S rRNA metabarcoding to characterize the microbiome. We show the closed dry eye microbiome is distinct from the healthy closed eye microbiome, and that the microbiome remains distinct despite daily saline eye wash upon awakening. The ocular microbiome was described only recently, and this report implicates a distinct microbiome in ocular disease development. Our findings suggest an interplay between microbial commensals and inflammation on the ocular surface. This information may inform future studies of the pathophysiological mechanisms of dry eye disease.
干眼症影响着数以百万计的人群。在实验模型中，干眼症与 Th17 细胞介导的眼表炎症有关，这种炎症可能导致角膜上皮持续损伤。然而，与眼表慢性炎症相关的起始和持续因素仍不清楚。眼微生物群会改变眼表炎症，可能影响干眼症的发生和发展。在这里，我们在睡眠中醒来、闭眼时以及一项非药物干眼症治疗的随机临床试验期间收集了一系列睡眠时的眼泪样本，并使用 16S rRNA 宏条形码来描述微生物组。我们表明，闭眼时干眼症的微生物组与健康闭眼时的微生物组不同，并且尽管每天醒来后用盐水冲洗眼睛，微生物组仍保持不同。眼微生物组是最近才被描述的，本报告提示眼疾病发展中存在独特的微生物组。我们的研究结果表明微生物共生体与眼表面炎症之间存在相互作用。这些信息可能为干眼症发病机制的未来研究提供信息。
