No Evidence of Chronic Infection in a Metagenomic Sequencing Study of the Keratoconus Corneal Epithelium.
- Resource Type
- Academic Journal
- Authors
- Kaur P; The Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.; Moon L; The Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.; Srikumaran D; The Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.; Salzberg SL; Center for Computational Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.; Department of Computer Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.; Lu J; Center for Computational Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.; Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.; Simner PJ; Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.; Soiberman US; The Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
- Source
- Publisher: MDPI AG Country of Publication: Switzerland NLM ID: 101606588 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 2077-0383 (Print) Linking ISSN: 20770383 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Clin Med Subsets: PubMed not MEDLINE
- Subject
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2077-0383
Objectives: This study aims to assess the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in the corneal epithelial layer of keratoconus patients. Methods: DNA was extracted from corneal epithelial samples procured from ten individual keratoconus eyes and three healthy controls. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) was performed to detect ocular microbiota using an agnostic approach. Results: Metagenomic sequencing revealed a low microbial read count in corneal epithelial samples derived from both keratoconus eyes (average: 530) and controls (average: 622) without a statistically significant difference ( p = 0.29). Proteobacteria were the predominant phylum in both keratoconus and control samples (relative abundance: 72% versus 79%, respectively). Conclusions: The overall low microbial read count and the lack of difference in the relative abundance of different microbial species between keratoconus and control samples do not support the hypothesis that a chronic corneal infection is implicated in the pathogenesis of keratoconus. These findings do not rule out the possibility that an acute infection may be involved in the disease process as an initiating event.