ArticleCell discovery2021
Identification of an intraocular microbiota.
Article in Cell discovery, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 40 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 62 citations in OpenAlex.
- Microbial Signals in Cancer: Dissecting Host-Microbiota-Tumor Interactions and Potential Therapeutic Strategy.MedComm · 2026Review
- An Update and Overview of the Ocular and Extraocular Microbiome and Its Impact on Ophthalmic Care.Advances in therapy · 2026Review
- From Health to Disease: A Comprehensive Review of Ocular Surface Microbiota and Detection Methods in Dry Eye.Current microbiology · 2026Review
- Incidence and clinical characteristics of acute infectious endophthalmitis after approximately 2.03 million cataract surgeries in China over a 5-year period (2017-2021).Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2026Article
- Characterization of the aqueous humor microbiome in Posner-Schlossman syndrome: an exploratory metagenomic sequencing study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Metagenomic analysis of ocular microbiome in aqueous humor from myopia, cataract, primary open angle glaucoma and Posner-Schlossman syndrome.International journal of ophthalmology · 2026Article
- The gut-eye axis in age-related macular degeneration: from microbial dysbiosis to targeted intervention strategies.Experimental biology and medicine (Maywood, N.J.) · 2026Review
- Acute and long-term effects of ocular surface burns on ocular surface microbiota: a one-year follow-up study.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
- Senescence Alters Antimicrobial Peptide Expression and Induces Amyloid-β Production in Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells.Aging cell · 2025Article
- Diet, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Vascular Endothelial Damage, and the Microbiome: Drivers of Ocular Degenerative and Inflammatory Diseases.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2025Review
- Bovine ocular microbiome: the next frontier in managing Pinkeye in cattle.Animal microbiome · 2025Article
- Overview of Microorganisms: Bacterial Microbiome, Mycobiome, Virome Identified Using Next-Generation Sequencing, and Their Application to Ophthalmic Diseases.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Ocular Rosacea: An Updated Review.Cornea · 2025Review
- Unlocking therapeutic potential: antibacterial therapy for CRB1-associated retinal degeneration in Rd8 mice.Frontiers of medicine · 2025Article
- The microbiome and the eye: a new era in ophthalmology.Eye (London, England) · 2025Review
- The microbiome exists in the neuroretina and choroid in normal conditions and responds rapidly to retinal injury.Frontiers in ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Inhibition of retinal neovascularization by Dendrobium polysaccharides: a review.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Exploring the Ocular Surface Microbiome and Tear Proteome in Glaucoma.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Author Correction: Identification of an intraocular microbiota.Cell discovery · 2024Article
- Microbial Dynamics in Ophthalmic Health: Exploring the Interplay between Human Microbiota and Glaucoma Pathogenesis.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
43 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The current dogma in ophthalmology and vision research presumes the intraocular environment to be sterile. However, recent evidence of intestinal bacterial translocation into the bloodstream and many other internal organs including the eyes, found in healthy and diseased animal models, suggests that the intraocular cavity may also be inhabited by a microbial community. Here, we tested intraocular samples from over 1000 human eyes. Using quantitative PCR, negative staining transmission electron microscopy, direct culture, and high-throughput sequencing technologies, we demonstrated the presence of intraocular bacteria. The possibility that the microbiome from these low-biomass communities could be a contamination from other tissues and reagents was carefully evaluated and excluded. We also provide preliminary evidence that a disease-specific microbial signature characterized the intraocular environment of patients with age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma, suggesting that either spontaneous or pathogenic bacterial translocation may be associated with these common sight-threatening conditions. Furthermore, we revealed the presence of an intraocular microbiome in normal eyes from non-human mammals and demonstrated that this varied across species (rat, rabbit, pig, and macaque) and was established after birth. These findings represent the first-ever evidence of intraocular microbiota in humans.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.