Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 14, 2026
Author Spotlight: Ex Vivo OCT-Based Multimodal Imaging of Human Donor Eyes for Research into Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Published on: May 26, 2023
Age-related Eye Disease Studies Supplements and Genetic Risk Score Are Crucial Determinants of Intestinal Microbial
Neda Dadgar1, Kevin Fung1, Scott McClintic2,3
1Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.
Objective:
Determine whether an intestinal microbial signature is associated with advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD); investigate the relationship between the microbiota and AMD genetic risk, intestinal immunoglobulin-A (IgA), and Age-Related Eye Disease Studies (AREDS) supplementation.
Design:
Case-control study.
Methods:
Fecal 16S rRNA sequencing, DESeq2 differential abundance, and IgA-sequencing.
Subjects:
Advanced AMD and age-similar non-AMD control subjects.
Main Outcome Measures:
Differential abundance plots using DESeq2, α and β diversity, and impact of AREDS supplementation and genetic risk on AMD microbiota.
Results:
In 85 advanced AMD compared with 49 healthy control subjects' intestinal microbiota, exploratory partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) showed that gut microbiome composition was able to predict AMD with moderate confidence (cross validation error rates, 0.28-0.36) with the potential for overfitting. A higher AMD genetic risk score was associated with lower gut microbial diversity (P = 0.0086; Spearman r = -0.3), a finding confirmed by multiple linear regression with confounding covariates, whereas AREDS supplementation was associated with increased gut bacterial diversity (coefficient, 2.64; P < 0.05). Differential abundance plots showed increased Proteobacteria and many differentially abundant genera (including Prevotella, Desulfovibrio, Oscillospira, and Ruminococcaceae) in AMD versus controls. Flow cytometry and IgA-sequencing suggested increased IgA-coating of gut bacteria in the age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2 (ARMS2) gene risk genotype, including higher IgA indices for Prevotella. These findings are hypothesis-generating and require functional validation. Predicted metabolic pathways (via piphillin) that differed between AMD and controls included lipid metabolism and xenobiotic processing by cytochrome P450; these findings are inferred and require confirmation by metabolomic studies.
Conclusions:
The intestinal microbiome is able to predict advanced AMD via PLS-DA. AREDS supplementation and genetic risk are crucial determinants of the AMD microbiome, which interacts with gut immunity by increasing IgA binding to certain bacteria. Understanding how the gut microbiome and its metabolites interact with gut immunity and host genetics will allow us to further investigate the microbiome to find potentially novel therapeutic targets in AMD.
Financial Disclosures:
Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.
Insights
The gut microbiome can predict advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Genetic risk and AREDS supplementation significantly influence the AMD microbiome, impacting gut immunity and bacterial IgA binding.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Microbiology
- Genetics
Background:
- Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of vision loss.
- The role of the gut microbiome in AMD pathogenesis is increasingly recognized.
- Investigating the gut microbiota's association with AMD may reveal novel therapeutic targets.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if an intestinal microbial signature is associated with advanced AMD.
- To explore the relationship between the gut microbiota, AMD genetic risk, intestinal immunoglobulin A (IgA), and AREDS supplementation.
Main Methods:
- Case-control study design.
- Fecal 16S rRNA sequencing and IgA-sequencing.
- DESeq2 for differential abundance analysis and PLS-DA for prediction modeling.
Main Results:
- Gut microbiome composition predicted advanced AMD with moderate confidence.
- Higher AMD genetic risk was linked to lower gut microbial diversity (P = 0.0086).
- AREDS supplementation was associated with increased gut bacterial diversity (P < 0.05).
- Increased Proteobacteria and specific genera (Prevotella, Desulfovibrio) were observed in AMD patients.
- Increased IgA-coating of gut bacteria was noted in individuals with ARMS2 gene risk genotype.
Conclusions:
- The intestinal microbiome can predict advanced AMD.
- Genetic risk and AREDS supplementation are key factors shaping the AMD microbiome.
- The AMD microbiome interacts with gut immunity, influencing IgA binding to bacteria.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Absorption
01:22iPS Cell Differentiation