Abstract
Purpose :
Glaucoma is a multi-mechanism neurodegeneration ocular disorder which lead to irreversible blindness. Microbial have been considered to contribute to the pathogenesis of this disease, however, the exact underlying mechanism remain unknown. In this study, we investigated the gut microbiota composition and metabolomic change in glaucoma patients.
Methods :
Fecal and blood samples were collected from 50 glaucoma patients and 50 healthy controls. DNA from fecal samples was subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metagenomic analysis for identifying specific composition and biological function of the microbiome. Fecal and blood samples were also subjected to metabolomic analysis by LC-MS method.
Results :
The gut microbiome of glaucoma was characterized with lower alpha-diversity (Shannon unit, p=0.016) and beta-diversity (p=0.019) compared with healthy controls. Glaucoma patients showed to have rich in Fusobacteriia, along with a lower level of Clostridia and Bacilli in fecal samples, specific for the decreased level of Ruminococcaceae and Pasteurellaceae. Metabolomic analysis showed short chain fatty acid were both increased in the fecal and blood samples from glaucoma patients.
Conclusions :
Our findings revealed that glaucoma is associated with the change of gut microbiota and related metabolomic change.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.