Consumption of ILimosilactobacillus fermentum/I Inhibits Corneal Damage and Inflammation in Dry Eye Disease Mouse Model through Regulating the Gut Microbiome

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2024-03, Vol.25 (6)
• Main Authors: Lee, Kippeum, Gwon, Hyeonjun, Shim, Jae Jung, Kim, Joo Yun, Lee, Jae Hwan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Eye diseases; Fatty acids; Inflammation; Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms)
• ISSN: 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms25063528

The present study investigated the effect of orally administered Limosilactobacillus fermentum HY7302 (HY7302) on the relationship between ocular tissue and the microbiome in a corneal injury dry eye mouse model. Specifically, 0.1% benzalkonium chloride (BAC) was applied to the ocular surface for 14 days to induce corneal injury in male Balb/c mice. During the BAC treatment period, HY7302 (1 × 10[sup.8] CFU/kg/day or 1 × 10[sup.9] CFU/kg/day) or an omega-3 positive control (400 mg/kg/day) were administered orally (n = eight/group). To examine the signaling pathways affected by the HY7302 treatment, the in vitro effects of HY7302 on the tight junctions and the inflammatory response were investigated in the mouse colon epithelial cell line, CMT-93. BAC exposure decreased tear production, induced ocular inflammation and corneal epithelial detachment, and altered the gut microbiota. However, oral administration of HY7302 restored tear secretion and decreased corneal epithelial detachment in BAC-treated corneal injury mice. Further, HY7302 alleviated corneal inflammation via modulation of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) expression and affeted alterations in gut microbiota composition. These findings suggest that the gut–eye axis interaction between gut microbiota and corneal tissue affects disease severity in corneal injury, and that the alteration of the microbiota by HY7302 could improve eye health by regulating the inflammatory response.