Gut microbiome analvsis in autoimmune uveitis: Investigating immunological triggers

• Grant number: 24/06803-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: August 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Public Health
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Vicente Rizzo
• Grantee: Danielle Dias Munhoz
• Supervisor: Maxime Breban
• Host Institution: Instituto Israelita de Ensino e Pesquisa Albert Einstein (IIEPAE). Sociedade Beneficente Israelita Brasileira Albert Einstein (SBIBAE). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Laboratoire Infection Et Inflammation Chronique, France
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/01362-2 - Microbiota association with immune system activation in the autoimmune uveitis development, BP.PD

Abstract

Autoimmune diseases are prominent among the most disabling conditions worldwide, affecting a considerable portion of the population. Intraocular inflammatory disorders encompass a diverse range of diseases wherein the immune system may attack the eye or its components. The onset and progression of these disorders are intricately linked to genetic and environmental factors, including the microbiome. Evidence suggests that gut microbiota might be involved in the immune system activation of uveitis patients via specific T cell receptors and thereby initiating the disease process. Animal model and bioinformatics studies reinforce the possible presence of structures with significant resemblance to key antigens targeted in uveitis, hinting at a potentially meaningful connection between microbiota components and disease development. Given that dysregulated gut microbial composition is a characteristic feature of many autoimmune diseases, findings support the notion that microbial dysbiosis could contribute to uveitis pathogenesis. However, there remains a lack of comprehensive characterization of the microbiome of autoimmune uveitis patients, with limited information derived directly from human samples exploring potential microbial antigens as triggers in immune responses. Hence, the aim of this project is to characterize the microbiome of uveitis patients and explore the contribution of microbial antigens as immune system activation trigger. Through shotgun sequencing of patients stool samples, will be conducted a taxonomic and functional characterization of the microbiota structure, alongside analysis of immunological triggers based on their presence and relative expression levels.