Potential role of ocular surface microbiota in keratoconus etiopathogenesis.

Keratoconus is the most common corneal ectatic disease and the most common cause of corneal transplantation in developed countries. The etiopathogenesis of the disease remains unclear. The human body hosts a remarkably abundant and diverse community of microbial species called microbiota. Advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology and bioinformatics have facilitated the characterization of human microbiota. Previous studies have shown that there is an alteration of ocular microbiota in inflammatory and autoimmune ocular diseases. The purpose of this review article is to evaluate the potential effect of ocular microbiota on the pathophysiology of keratoconus. Recent studies have shown the low-level chronic inflammatory process in keratoconus. A regulatory interaction has been demonstrated between human microbiota and Toll-like receptors, which are innate immune system receptors. In addition, Toll-like receptor activity in keratoconus has been shown to be higher than in normal individuals. Therefore, the alteration of ocular microbiota may have a potential role in keratoconus etiopathogenesis. Further research is required on this subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]