Oral Fungal Microbiome in Gout Patients Revealed by ITS Sequencing

This project aims to characterize the oral fungal microbiome in patients with gout using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing. Saliva samples were collected from patients with acute gout arthritis (AGA), chronic gout arthritis (CGA), and healthy controls (HC). Fungal community diversity, differential taxa, and co-occurrence networks were analyzed to explore the potential role of oral fungi in gout pathogenesis. In addition, a subset of CGA patients was followed up after standardized treatment, and paired saliva samples before and after therapy were compared to evaluate the dynamic changes in the oral mycobiome.