Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Excellence Center of Cornea and Limbal Stem Cell Transplantation, Department of Ophthalmology, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
PLoS One. 2023 Dec 22;18(12):e0296296. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296296. eCollection 2023.
Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) leads to meibum stasis and pathogenic bacteria proliferation. We determined meibum microbiota via next-generation sequencing (NGS) and examined their association with tear cytokine levels in patients with MGD. This cross-sectional study included 44 moderate-severe patients with MGD and 44 healthy controls (HCs). All volunteers underwent assessment with the ocular surface disease index questionnaire, Schirmer without anesthesia, tear break-up time, Oxford grading of ocular surface staining, and lid and meibum features. Sample collection included tears for cytokine detection and meibum for 16S rRNA NGS. No significant differences were observed in the α-diversity of patients with MGD compared with that in HCs. However, Simpson's index showed significantly decreased α-diversity for severe MGD than for moderate MGD (p = 0.045). Principal coordinate analysis showed no significant differences in β-diversity in meibum samples from patients with MGD and HCs. Patients with MGD had significantly higher relative abundances of Bacteroides (8.54% vs. 6.00%, p = 0.015) and Novosphingobium (0.14% vs. 0.004%, p = 0.012) than the HCs. Significantly higher interleukin (IL)-17A was detected in the MGD group than in the HC group, particularly for severe MGD (p = 0.008). Although Bacteroides was more abundant in the MGD group than in the HC group, it was not positively correlated with IL-17A. The relationship between core meibum microbiota and tear cytokine levels remains unclear. However, increased Bacteroides and Novosphingobium abundance may be critical in MGD pathophysiology.
睑板腺功能障碍 (MGD) 可导致睑脂淤积和致病细菌增殖。我们通过下一代测序 (NGS) 来确定睑脂微生物群，并研究其与 MGD 患者泪液细胞因子水平的相关性。本横断面研究纳入了 44 例中重度 MGD 患者和 44 例健康对照者 (HCs)。所有志愿者均接受了眼表疾病指数问卷、无麻醉的 Schirmer 试验、泪膜破裂时间、Oxford 眼表染色分级以及眼睑和睑脂特征评估。样本采集包括用于细胞因子检测的泪液和用于 16S rRNA NGS 的睑脂。与 HCs 相比，MGD 患者的α多样性无显著差异。然而，严重 MGD 患者的 Simpson 指数显示出显著降低的 α 多样性 (p = 0.045)。主坐标分析显示 MGD 患者和 HCs 的睑脂样本的β多样性无显著差异。MGD 患者的拟杆菌 (8.54%比 6.00%，p = 0.015) 和新鞘氨醇单胞菌 (0.14%比 0.004%，p = 0.012) 的相对丰度显著高于 HCs。与 HCs 相比，MGD 组的白细胞介素 (IL)-17A 水平显著升高，尤其是重度 MGD 组 (p = 0.008)。尽管 MGD 组的拟杆菌丰度高于 HCs 组，但与 IL-17A 无正相关关系。核心睑脂微生物群与泪液细胞因子水平之间的关系尚不清楚。然而，拟杆菌和新鞘氨醇单胞菌丰度的增加可能在 MGD 发病机制中起关键作用。
