Optometry Commons^™

Epigenetics, Microbiota, And Intraocular Inflammation: New Paradigms Of Immune Regulation In The Eye, Paul W. Bible, Xiaofeng Wen, Xiao Hu, Li Miao, Yuhua Deng, Lai Wei

Computer Science Faculty publications

Sight threatening immune responses that damage the eye characterize intraocular inflammatory diseases. These diseases including uveitis and age-related macular degeneration are worryingly common and quality of life shattering. Genetic studies in past decades significantly advanced our understanding of the etiology of these devastating diseases. Unfortunately, patient genetics alone failed to adequately explain disease origin, susceptibility, and progression. Non-genetic factors such as the epigenetic regulation of ocular diseases and the environmental factors triggering intraocular inflammation offer new insight into intraocular inflammatory disorders. Importantly, mounting evidence is signaling that dysbiosis of human microbiota leads to rapid epigenomic reprograming of host cells …

The Influence Of Age And Sex On Ocular Surface Microbiota In Healthy Adults, Paul W. Bible, Xiaofeng Wen, Li Miao, Yuhua Deng, Xiao Hu, Et Al.

Computer Science Faculty publications

Purpose: A growing body of evidence suggests that the microbiome of the ocular surface confers potent immunoregulatory functions and has a key role in the physiologic maintenance of healthy eyes and in the pathogenesis of ocular diseases. Although the microbiome is known to be affected by age and sex, the influence of these factors on ocular surface microbiota in healthy adults remains largely unknown.

Methods: Ocular surface microbiome samples were obtained from the inferior bulbar conjunctiva of 48 young and 42 old adults at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center. Using metagenomic shotgun sequencing, we characterized the sex- and age-differences in conjunctival microbiome …