Evidence mapPaperPMID 42194525Full record

ReviewJournal of clinical medicine2026

The Gut-Eye Axis and Microbiome in Ophthalmic Diseases: A Narrative Review.

Kinga Szymańska, Karolina Sałasińska, Agnieszka Młynarczyk, Justyna Miszczak, Weronika Dmoch, Piotr Maciejewicz

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of clinical medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Kinga SzymańskaOphthalmology Student Research Group, Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Warsaw, 4 Lindleya Street, 02-005 Warsaw, Poland.
Karolina SałasińskaOphthalmology Student Research Group, Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Warsaw, 4 Lindleya Street, 02-005 Warsaw, Poland.
Agnieszka MłynarczykOphthalmology Student Research Group, Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Warsaw, 4 Lindleya Street, 02-005 Warsaw, Poland.
Justyna MiszczakOphthalmology Student Research Group, Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Warsaw, 4 Lindleya Street, 02-005 Warsaw, Poland.
Weronika DmochOphthalmology Student Research Group, Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Warsaw, 4 Lindleya Street, 02-005 Warsaw, Poland.ORCID 0009-0004-2652-8011
Piotr MaciejewiczDepartment and Clinic of Ophthalmology, University Clinical Center, Medical University of Warsaw, 4 Lindleya Street, 02-005 Warsaw, Poland.ORCID 0000-0001-6725-6332

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The gut microbiome regulates host metabolism, barrier integrity, and immune homeostasis through microbe-host signaling and bioactive metabolites. Growing evidence suggests that dysbiosis may also influence ocular immune privilege and blood-retinal barrier stability, supporting the emerging concept of the gut-eye axis. This narrative review aimed to integrate retinal, uveal, and ocular surface disorders within a shared functional framework, with emphasis on recurring mechanistic pathways and their translational relevance rather than on single diseases or isolated taxonomic findings. The review was based on a literature search of PubMed and Scopus and primarily included English-language studies published between 2015 and 2025, with earlier seminal papers included when needed. The search was last updated in March 2026, and 101 sources were included in the final narrative synthesis. Across age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, uveitis, dry eye disease, and Sjögren's syndrome, the most consistent microbiome-related signals were functional rather than taxonomic. Recurrent mechanistic themes included Th17/Treg immune programming, barrier dysfunction with microbial product translocation, and systemic metabolite signaling, particularly involving short-chain fatty acids, bile acid receptor pathways, and tryptophan-derived metabolites. Age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy showed the strongest multi-layered support, whereas uveitis provided a compelling immune-centered biological model that remains limited by treatment-related confounding in human studies. In glaucoma and ocular surface disease, evidence supports biological plausibility, especially in relation to neuroinflammation, mucosal immune dysregulation, and metabolite-dependent anti-inflammatory pathways, although much of the available human literature remains associative. Overall, current evidence supports dysbiosis as a disease modifier that may influence ocular inflammation, angiogenesis, neurodegeneration, and barrier stability. However, clinical translation remains limited by cohort heterogeneity, methodological variability, and incomplete control of confounding factors. Further progress will depend on longitudinal multi-omics cohorts and controlled intervention trials focused on actionable microbial functions.

Indexed as

age-related macular degenerationblood-retinal barrierdiabetic retinopathydry eye diseasedysbiosisglaucomagut-eye axismicrobiomeshort-chain fatty acidsSjögren’s syndromeuveitis

Identifiers

PMID42194525
PMCPMC13206939

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.