Characterization of the Ocular Surface Microbiome in Keratitis Patients after Repeated Ophthalmic Antibiotic Exposure

In human medicine, antibiotics have been widely used to treat microbial infections. The extensive use of antibiotics is a leading cause of antibiotic resistance. Currently, the influence of the use of antibiotics on the ocular surface microbiome in the course of keratitis treatment remains to be explored in depth. We performed metagenomic analyses in a cohort of 26 healthy controls (HCs), 28 keratitis patients (KPs) who received antibiotics [KP (abx+) group], and 12 KPs who were antibiotic naive [KP (abx−) group]. We identified that the dissimilarities in microbial community structure (Bray-Curtis and Jaccard analyses) between the KP (abx+) group and the HC group were greater than those between the KP (abx−) group and the HC group. Pseudomonas lactis, P. aeruginosa, Pseudomonas sp. FDAARGOS_380, Pseudomonas sp. J380, Corynebacterium simulans, Streptococcus pyogenes, Finegoldia magna, and Aspergillus oryzae had no statistically significant differences between the KP (abx+) and KP (abx−) groups but did have statistically significant differences between the KP (abx+) and HC groups and between the KP (abx−) and HC groups. Among them, Pseudomonas lactis, P. aeruginosa, Pseudomonas sp. FDAARGOS_380, and Pseudomonas sp. J380 were identified as possible hosts carrying multidrug-resistant genes. The total abundance and number of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were greater in the KP (abx+) group than in the HC and KP (abx−) groups. The functional profile analysis of ocular surface microbiota revealed that pathogenesis-related functional pathways and virulence functions were enriched in KPs. In conclusion, our results show that empirical antibiotic treatment in KPs leads to increases in the antibiotic resistance of ocular surface microbiota. IMPORTANCE Treatment for keratitis is based on appropriate antimicrobial therapy. A direct correlation between antibiotic use and the extent of antibiotic resistance has been reported. Therefore, knowledge of the antibiotic resistance patterns of ocular surface microbial flora in KPs is important for clinical treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to use metagenomic approaches to investigate the associations between ophthalmic antibiotic use and the ocular surface microbiome of KPs. Monitoring the microbiota and antibiotic resistome profiles for the ocular surface has huge potential to help ophthalmologists choose the appropriate antibiotics and will thereby improve the efficacy of treatment regimens, which has important implications for reducing the development of antibiotic resistance of the ocular surface to a certain extent.