The Role of Microbiota in Retinal Disease
Abstract
The ten years since the first publications on the human microbiome project have brought enormous attention and insight into the role of the human microbiome in health and disease. Connections between populations of microbiota and ocular disease are now being established, and increased accessibility to microbiome research and insights into other diseases is expected to yield enormous information in the coming years. With the characterization of the ocular microbiome, important insights have already been made regarding corneal and conjunctival tissues. Roles for non-ocular microbiomes in complex retinal diseases are now being evaluated. For example, the gut microbiome has been implicated in the pathogenesis of uveitis. This short review will summarize the few studies linking gut or oral microbiota to diabetic retinopathy (DR), glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We will also conjecture where the most significant findings still remain to be elucidated. Finally, we will propose the gut-retina axis, related but distinct from the gut-brain axis.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Age-related macular degeneration is associated with chronic inflammation and altered fecal microbial metabolite profiles.
“Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is associated with chronic inflammation [29, 65] and altered fecal microbial metabolite profiles [100].”
From Fecal microbiota transfer between young and aged mice reverses hallmarks of the aging gut, eye, and brain (2022) · cites this paper as [100]
Cites
A metagenome-wide association study of gut microbiota in type 2 diabetes
Qin, J., Li, Y., Cai, Z., Li, S., Zhu, J., Zhang, F., Liang, S., Zhang, W., Guan, Y., Shen, D., et al. (2012) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature11450 · Cited by 6,762 · see citing works
The impact of the gut microbiota on human health: an integrative view
Clemente, J. C., Ursell, L. K., Parfrey, L. W., & Knight, R. (2012) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2012.01.035 · Cited by 3,710 · see citing works
Gut metagenome in European women with normal, impaired and diabetic glucose control
Karlsson, F. H., Tremaroli, V., Nookaew, I., Bergström, G., Behre, C. J., Fagerberg, B., Nielsen, J., & Bäckhed, F. (2013) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature12198 · Cited by 3,115 · see citing works
Disentangling type 2 diabetes and metformin treatment signatures in the human gut microbiota
MetaHIT consortium, Forslund, K., Hildebrand, F., Nielsen, T., Falony, G., Le Chatelier, E., Sunagawa, S., Prifti, E., Vieira-Silva, S., Gudmundsdottir, V., et al. (2015) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature15766 · Cited by 2,116 · see citing works
Serotonin, tryptophan metabolism and the brain-gut-microbiome axis
O’Mahony, S. M., Clarke, G., Borre, Y. E., Dinan, T. G., & Cryan, J. F. (2015) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2014.07.027 · Cited by 2,012 · see citing works
Gut/brain axis and the microbiota
Mayer, E. A., Tillisch, K., & Gupta, A. (2015) · Journal of Clinical Investigation · doi:10.1172/jci76304 · Cited by 1,503 · see citing works
Metformin and the gastrointestinal tract
McCreight, L. J., Bailey, C. J., & Pearson, E. R. (2016) · Diabetologia · doi:10.1007/s00125-015-3844-9 · Cited by 733 · see citing works
Ghaisas, S., Maher, J. M., & Kanthasamy, A. G. (2015) · Pharmacology & Therapeutics · doi:10.1016/j.pharmthera.2015.11.012 · Cited by 519 · see citing works
Horai, R., Zárate-Bladés, C. R., Dillenburg-Pilla, P., Chen, J., Kielczewski, J. L., Silver, P. B., Jittayasothorn, Y., Chan, C.-C., Yamane, H., Honda, K., et al. (2015) · Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2015.07.014 · Cited by 402 · see citing works
Effect of Metformin on Metabolic Improvement and Gut Microbiota
Lee, H., & Ko, G. (2014) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.01357-14 · Cited by 384 · see citing works
The gut microbiota and metabolic disease: current understanding and future perspectives
Arora, T., & Bäckhed, F. (2016) · Journal of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1111/joim.12508 · Cited by 301 · see citing works
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD): Alzheimer's disease in the eye?
Kaarniranta, K., Salminen, A., Haapasalo, A., Soininen, H., & Hiltunen, M. (2011) · Journal of Alzheimer s Disease · doi:10.3233/jad-2011-101908 · Cited by 248 · see citing works
MECHANISMS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY: Gut microbiota in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Allin, K. H., Nielsen, T., & Pedersen, O. B. (2014) · European Journal of Endocrinology · doi:10.1530/eje-14-0874 · Cited by 238 · see citing works
Uchiki, T., Weikel, K. A., Jiao, W., Shang, F., Caceres, A., Pawlak, D., Handa, J. T., Brownlee, M., Nagaraj, R., & Taylor, A. (2012) · Aging Cell · doi:10.1111/j.1474-9726.2011.00752.x · Cited by 200 · see citing works
Self-citationGut Microbial Alterations Associated With Protection From Autoimmune Uveitis
Nakamura, Y., Metea, C., Karstens, L., Asquith, M. J., Gruner, H., Moscibrocki, C., Lee, I., Brislawn, C., Jansson, J. K., Rosenbaum, J. T., et al. (2016) · Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science · doi:10.1167/iovs.16-19733 · Cited by 194 · see citing works
Impact of Microbiome on Ocular Health
Kugadas, A., & Gadjeva, M. G. (2016) · The Ocular Surface · doi:10.1016/j.jtos.2016.04.004 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Oral Microbiome Link to Neurodegeneration in Glaucoma
Astafurov, K. V., Elhawy, E., Ren, L., Dong, C. Q., Igboin, C. O., Hyman, L., Griffen, A. L., Mittag, T. W., & Danias, J. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0104416 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Human Microbiota and Ophthalmic Disease.
Lu, L. J., & Liu, J. (2016) · PubMed Central · Cited by 117 · see citing works
Kountouras, J., Mylopoulos, N., Konstas, A. G. P., et al. (2003) · Graefe s Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology · doi:10.1007/s00417-003-0779-5 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Nutritional modulation of age-related macular degeneration
Weikel, K., Chiu, C., & Taylor, A. (2012) · Molecular Aspects of Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.mam.2012.03.005 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Self-citationThe Relationship Between Helicobacter pylori Infection and Open-Angle Glaucoma: A Meta-Analysis
Zeng, J., Liu, H., Liu, X., & Ding, C. (2015) · Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science · doi:10.1167/iovs.15-17059 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Weikel, K., FitzGerald, P., Shang, F., Caceres, A., Bian, Q., Handa, J. T., Stitt, A. W., & Taylor, A. (2011) · Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science · doi:10.1167/iovs.11-8545 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Self-citationInvestigation of the Association betweenHelicobacter pyloriInfection and Normal Tension Glaucoma
Kim, J. M., Kim, S., Park, K. H., et al. (2010) · Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science · doi:10.1167/iovs.10-6096 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Yi, Q., Deng, G., Chen, N., Bai, Z.-S., Yuan, J., Wu, G., Wang, Y., & Wu, S. (2016) · PubMed Central · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Gut microbiota affects lens and retinal lipid composition
Orešič, M., Seppänen‐Laakso, T., Yetukuri, L., Bäckhed, F., & Hänninen, V. A. (2009) · Experimental Eye Research · doi:10.1016/j.exer.2009.06.018 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Helicobacter pylori Infection and Eye Diseases
Saccà, S. C., Vagge, A., Pulliero, A., & Izzotti, A. (2014) · Medicine · doi:10.1097/md.0000000000000216 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
The microbiome, HLA, and the pathogenesis of uveitis
Rosenbaum, J. T., Lin, P., & Asquith, M. J. (2015) · Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology · doi:10.1007/s10384-015-0416-y · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Glaucoma and Helicobacter pylori: Eyes wide shut?
Zullo, A., Ridola, L., Hassan, C., et al. (2012) · Digestive and Liver Disease · doi:10.1016/j.dld.2012.03.011 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
The Microbiome and its Impact on Disease in the Preterm Patient
Neu, J. (2013) · Current Pediatrics Reports · doi:10.1007/s40124-013-0031-7 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Bacterial Flora Changes in Conjunctiva of Rats with Streptozotocin-Induced Type I Diabetes
Yang, C., Fei, Y., Qin, Y., Luo, D., Yang, S., Kou, X., Zi, Y., Deng, T., & Jin, M. (2015) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0133021 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Effect of Metformin on the Development and Severity of Diabetic Retinopathy
Munie, M., Ryu, C. L., Noorulla, S., et al. (2014) · Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Parker, A., Romano, S., Ansorge, R., Aboelnour, A., Le Gall, G., Savva, G. M., Pontifex, M. G., Telatin, A., Baker, D., Jones, E., et al. (2022) · Microbiome · doi:10.1186/s40168-022-01243-w · Cited by 368 · see citing works
Dysbiosis and Implication of the Gut Microbiota in Diabetic Retinopathy
Huang, Y., Wang, Z., Ma, H., Ji, S., Chen, Z., Cui, Z., Chen, J., & Tang, S. (2021) · Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fcimb.2021.646348 · Cited by 180 · see citing works
Composition and diversity of gut microbiota in diabetic retinopathy
Bai, J., Wan, Z., Zhang, Y., Wang, T., Xue, Y., & Peng, Q. (2022) · Frontiers in Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fmicb.2022.926926 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
- Authors
- Rowan, S., & Taylor, A.
- Affiliations
- Tufts University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Rowan, Sheldon
- Venue
- Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing
- Published
- 2018
- Volume
- 1074
- Pages
- 429-435
- ISSN
- 0065-2598 (ISSN-L)
- 2214-8019
- OpenAlex
- W2800339923
- Cited by
- 89
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 9.43
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Advances in experimental medicine and biology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Ophthalmology › Retinal Diseases and Treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Ophthalmology › Ocular Diseases and Behçet’s Syndrome
- Keywords
- gut microbiota, retinal disease, ocular microbiome, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, uveitis, gut-retina axis, gut-brain axis, oral microbiota, cornea, conjunctiva
- MeSH terms
- Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Animals, Conjunctiva, Cornea, Diabetic Retinopathy, Disease Models, Animal, Germ-Free Life, Glaucoma, Humans, Macular Degeneration, Metformin, Mouth, Retinal Diseases, Uveitis, Mice, Microbiota
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review