Mycobiome changes in the vitreous of post fever retinitis patients

Abstract

Fungi have been associated with various diseases of the eye like keratitis, uveitis and endophthalmitis. Despite this fact, fungal microbiome (mycobiome) studies compared to the bacterial microbiome studies have remained neglected. In the present study, using metagenomic sequencing, the mycobiomes of the vitreous of healthy control individuals (VC, n = 15) and individuals with post fever retinitis + non-PFR uveitis (PFR+, n = 9) were analysed and compared. The results indicated that Ascomycota was the most predominant phylum in both VC and PFR+ groups. Further, at the genera level it was observed that the abundance of 17 fungal genera were significantly different in post fever retinitis (PFR, n = 6) group compared to control group. Of these 17 genera, it was observed that 14 genera were relatively more abundant in PFR group and the remaining 3 genera in the VC group. Genus Saccharomyces, a commensal of the gut and skin, was predominantly present in the vitreous of both the cohorts, however it was significantly less abundant in PFR group. Further, significant increase in the genera that have a pathogenic interaction with the host were observed in PFR group. On the whole the mycobiome in both the groups differed significantly and formed two distinct clusters in the heatmap and Principal co-ordinate analysis. These results demonstrate significant changes in the mycobiome from the vitreous of post fever retinitis patients compared to healthy controls thus implying that dysbiotic changes in the fungal vitreous microbiome are associated with PFR.

Intraocular Microbiome in Diabetes and Diabetic Retinopathy: A Pilot Study

“…Ours is a limited preliminary analysis, and it is too early to answer such questions. However, intraocular microbiota may prove to be a pathology-defining discovery for DR, like the earlier reports of intraocular microbiome (bacterial, fungal and viral) in the vitreous fluids of normal (control) and post-fever retinitis [1][2][3] from our group.…”

“…Considering the gut-retina axis, an end-organ dysbiosis is closer to the eye condition than other human micro-environments and may reflect long-term gut changes compared with short-term local volatilities in the gut. However, at present, our data on the intraocular microbiome (including ours) is only preliminary, and such a hypothesis should be considered appropriately [1][2][3].…”

Intraocular Viral Communities Associated With Post-fever Retinitis

“…Similarly, a case of acquired hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis caused by dual infections with Candida albicans and reactivated EBV infections was reported recently (60). The nine pathogenic fungal genera that were significantly increased in PFR, Setosphaeria, Arthroderma, Clavispora, Exserohilum, Paracoccidiodes, Pseudogymnoascus, Trichoderma, Kluveromyces, and Microsporum were not reported to co-occur along with EBV infection (14). Therefore, further studies may be necessary to understand the likely involvement of bacterial and fungal genera along with EBV infection in PFR.…”

“…In our earlier study, using the next generation sequencing (NGS) approach, changes in bacterial microbiome and mycobiome associated with PFR were demonstrated. However, in particular, no ocular bacterial or fungal pathogen was identified in the PFR group compared with the control group (13,14). Viromes have been previously characterized on the surface of the skin (15), blood (16,17), breast milk (18), cerebrospinal fluids (19), oral cavity (20,21), lower gastrointestinal tract (22)(23)(24), respiratory tract (25), bladder (26), and vagina (27,28).…”

ITS2 Sequencing and Targeted Meta-Proteomics of Infant Gut Mycobiome Reveal the Functional Role of Rhodotorula sp. during Atopic Dermatitis Manifestation

“…Notably, the ratio of Ascomycota to Basidiomycota in the persisted group was lower than in the healthy and outgrown groups. Previous research reported that patients with fever retinitis, colon cancer, or inflammatory bowel had a ratio of Ascomycota to Basidiomycota lower than healthy humans [49][50][51]. However, no clear mechanism defining the cause of this occurrence has been discovered.…”