Disordered Microbial Communities in Asthmatic Airways |
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| Authors: | Markus Hilty Conor Burke Helder Pedro Paul Cardenas Andy Bush Cara Bossley Jane Davies Aaron Ervine Len Poulter Lior Pachter Miriam F. Moffatt William O. C. Cookson |
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| Affiliation: | 1. National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, England.; 2. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Connolly Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.; 3. Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Oeiras, Portugal.; 4. Department of Mathematics, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America.;Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale, France |
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| Abstract: | BackgroundA rich microbial environment in infancy protects against asthma [1], [2] and infections precipitate asthma exacerbations [3]. We compared the airway microbiota at three levels in adult patients with asthma, the related condition of COPD, and controls. We also studied bronchial lavage from asthmatic children and controls.Principal FindingsWe identified 5,054 16S rRNA bacterial sequences from 43 subjects, detecting >70% of species present. The bronchial tree was not sterile, and contained a mean of 2,000 bacterial genomes per cm2 surface sampled. Pathogenic Proteobacteria, particularly Haemophilus spp., were much more frequent in bronchi of adult asthmatics or patients with COPD than controls. We found similar highly significant increases in Proteobacteria in asthmatic children. Conversely, Bacteroidetes, particularly Prevotella spp., were more frequent in controls than adult or child asthmatics or COPD patients.SignificanceThe results show the bronchial tree to contain a characteristic microbiota, and suggest that this microbiota is disturbed in asthmatic airways. |
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