Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis in Diabetic Retinopathy-Current Knowledge and Future Therapeutic Targets

• Published in: Life (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 13; no. 4; p. 968
• Main Authors: Serban, Dragos, Dascalu, Ana Maria, Arsene, Andreea Letitia, Tribus, Laura Carina, Vancea, Geta, Pantea Stoian, Anca, Costea, Daniel Ovidiu, Tudosie, Mihail Silviu, Stana, Daniela, Cristea, Bogdan Mihai, Nicolae, Vanessa Andrada, Tudor, Corneliu, Costea, Andreea Cristina, Comandasu, Meda, Faur, Mihai, Tanasescu, Ciprian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.04.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Age; Age related diseases; Antibiotics; Bacteroidetes; Biological diversity; Blindness; blood retinal barrier; Care and treatment; Comparative analysis; Complications and side effects; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetic retinopathy; Diabetics; Diagnosis; Dysbacteriosis; Dysbiosis; Evidence-based medicine; Eye diseases; Feces; Glaucoma; gut microbiota; Health aspects; Hyperglycemia; Inflammation; Intestinal microflora; LPS; Macular degeneration; Metabolism; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms); Microorganisms; Physiological aspects; Prebiotics; Probiotics; Retina; Retinopathy; Risk factors; SCFAs; Software; Systematic Review; Therapeutic applications; Therapeutic targets; Type 2 diabetes; Uveitis; Romania; SCFAs; apoptosis; diabetic retinopathy; blood retinal barrier; LPS; gut microbiota; dysbiosis
• ISSN: 2075-1729; 2075-1729
• DOI: 10.3390/life13040968

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the major causes of blindness today, despite important achievements in diagnosis and therapy. The involvement of a gut-retina axis is thought to be a possible risk factor for several chronic eye disease, such as glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, uveitis, and, recently, diabetic retinopathy. Dysbiosis may cause endothelial disfunction and alter retinal metabolism. This review analyzes the evidence regarding changes in gut microbiota in patients with DR compared with diabetics and healthy controls (HCs). A systematic review was performed on PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for the following terms: "gut microbiota" OR "gut microbiome" AND "diabetic retinopathy". Ultimately, 9 articles published between 2020 and 2022 presenting comparative data on a total of 228 T2DM patients with DR, 220 patients with T2DM, and 118 HCs were analyzed. All of the studies found a distinctive microbial beta diversity in DR vs. T2DM and HC, characterized by an altered Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, a decrease in butyrate producers, and an increase in LPS-expressing and pro-inflammatory species in the Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria phyla. The probiotic species Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus were decreased when compared with T2DM. Gut microbiota influence retinal health in multiple ways and may represent a future therapeutic target in DR.