Prisha Warikoo

Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a chronic pediatric ocular allergy that can progress from seasonal to persistent inflammation with vision-threatening complications. Although Th2-associated mechanisms have been implicated, the immune correlates of disease severity are not well defined. Tear samples from VKC patients (moderate intermittent and moderate persistent) and healthy controls were collected using Schirmer’s strips. Cytokine profiling was performed using the OLINK^® Target 48 Cytokine Panel. Differential expression, correlation with clinical features, and pathway enrichment analyses were performed. Compared to control, IL-15, CXCL11, CXCL9, MMP12, and CCL13 were significantly elevated in VKC, with higher levels in the persistent phenotype. These cytokines correlated with symptom duration, limbal involvement, and papillary hypertrophy. Pathway analysis revealed enrichment of IL-17, JAK–STAT, and chemokine signaling pathways. VKC severity is associated with distinct tear cytokine signatures, with the persistent phenotype showing enhanced chronic inflammatory signaling. These findings identify candidate tear-based markers of disease severity that require validation in larger, independent, and longitudinal cohorts.

Gastroduodenal diseases have prevailed for a long time and more so due to dominance of gut bacteria Helicobacter pylori in most of the cases. But habitation by other gut microbiota in gastroduodenal diseases and the relationship between Helicobacter pylori and gastrointestinal microbiota in different gastroduodenal diseases is somewhat being unravelled in the current times. For this systematic review, we did a literature search of various gastroduodenal diseases and the effect on gut microbiota pertaining to it. A search of the online bibliographic databases PUBMED and PUBMED CENTRAL was carried out to identify articles published between 1977 and May 2022. The analysis of these selected studies highlighted the inhabitation of other gut microbiota such as Fusobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Streptococcaceae, Prevotellaceae, Fusobacteriaceae, and many others. Interplay between these microbiota and H. pylori have also been noted which suggested that gastroduodenal diseases and gut microbiota are intertwined by a symbiotic association regardless of the H. pylori status. The relationship between the gut microbiota and many gastroduodenal diseases, such as gastritis, gastric cancer, lymphomas, and ulcers, demonstrates the dysbiosis of the gut microbiota in both the presence and absence of H. pylori. The evolving ways for eliminating H. pylori are provided along with inhibiting qualities of other species on H. pylori. Most significant member of our gut system is Helicobacter pylori which has been associated with numerous diseases like gastric cancer, gastritis, duodenal ulcer.