Methods for Analyzing the Gut Microbiota in Diabetic Retinopathy.

The gut microbiome that inhabits human hosts plays an important role in the development of a healthy host immune system. Many studies have shown that gut microbiota is involved in the occurrence and development of diabetic retinopathy (DR). With the advent of sequencing technology of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene, microbiota studies are becoming more feasible. Here, we described a study protocol to characterize the microbiota composite in the DR and non-DR patients compared with healthy controls.