Association between gut microbiota and central retinal artery occlusion: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study

Area of Science:

• Microbiome research
• Ophthalmology
• Genetics

Background:

• The gut microbiota's role in central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is suspected but not causally established.
• Understanding this link is crucial for developing novel therapeutic strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential causal relationship between gut microbial composition and central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO).
• Utilize Mendelian randomization (MR) to assess causality.

Main Methods:

• Employed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) design.
• Utilized large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) data from the Dutch Microbiome Project (DMP) and MiBioGen consortium for gut microbiota, and the FinnGen project for CRAO.
• Applied inverse variance weighted (IVW) method and multiple sensitivity analyses for robust results.

Main Results:

• Identified significant associations between microbial pathways and taxa with CRAO.
• In the DMP study, three pathways and seven taxa showed associations (risk/protective factors).
• In the MiBioGen consortium, seven taxa were associated with CRAO, with the Eubacterium genus consistently identified as a risk factor in both datasets.

Conclusions:

• This research suggests specific gut microbial taxa and pathways may have a causal impact on CRAO.
• These findings offer potential new avenues for CRAO prevention and treatment targeting the gut microbiome.
• Further research is required to confirm these hypothesis-generating results from secondary GWAS data analysis.