Compositional features of the gut microbiome in patients with uveitis

Abstract

Purpose : The human gut microbiome is a complex ecosystem and refers to the combined genetic material of microorganisms in the gut. The gut microbiome has many important physiological functions, such as promoting digestion and absorption of nutrients, regulating the function of the immune system or synthesizing vitamins and amino acids. Dysbiotic conditions can favor invasion and growth of pathogenic species and can disrupt immune homeostasis, thus potentially induce diseases. In this study we investigated compositional alterations of the gut microbiome in patients with recent onset acute anterior uveitis (AAU).

Methods : Twenty three patients with recent onset AAU without therapeutic intervention were included. Twenty three individuals with no history of uveitis were included. The metagenomic DNA was analyzed in stool samples using the TruSeq DNA PCR-Free Library Preparation kit for library preparation and the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform for sequencing. HLA-B*27 genotypes were confirmed by allele-specific PCR.

Results : Mean age of both groups was 46 years with a matched female to male ratio. The taxonomical features and compositional difference between both groups will be presented. To identify taxonomic and functional features with significantly different relative abundances between both groups and to identify associations with clinical metadata, the multivariate association between by linear models (MaAsLin) R package was applied using default settings. A difference was considered to be statistically significant if q < 0.20 after adjusting for false discovery rate (Benjamini-Hochberg)

Conclusions : The development of noninfectious anterior uveitis may be influenced by compositional alterations of the intestinal microbiome. Possible mechanisms include antigenic mimicry, destruction of the intestinal barrier and priming of immune cells.

This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.