BACKGROUND: Recent studies have revealed that the blood of healthy humans is not as sterile as previously supposed. The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive description of the microbiome present in different fractions of the blood of healthy individuals. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The study was conducted in 30 healthy blood donors to the French national blood collection center (Établissement Français du Sang). We have set up a 16S rDNA quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay as well as a 16S targeted metagenomics sequencing pipeline specifically designed to analyze the blood microbiome, which we have used on whole blood as well as on different blood fractions (buffy coat [BC], red blood cells [RBCs], and plasma). RESULTS: Most of the blood bacterial DNA is located in the BC (93.74%), and RBCs contain more bacterial DNA (6.23%) than the plasma (0.03%). The distribution of 16S DNA is different for each fraction and spreads over a relatively broad range among donors. At the phylum level, blood fractions contain bacterial DNA mostly from the Proteobacteria phylum (more than 80%) but also from Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes. At deeper taxonomic levels, there are striking differences between the bacterial profiles of the different blood fractions. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that a diversified microbiome exists in healthy blood. This microbiome has most likely an important physiologic role and could be implicated in certain transfusion-transmitted bacterial infections. In this regard, the amount of 16S bacterial DNA or the microbiome profile could be monitored to improve the safety of the blood supply.
BACKGROUND: Recent studies have revealed that the blood of healthy humans is not as sterile as previously supposed. The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive description of the microbiome present in different fractions of the blood of healthy individuals. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The study was conducted in 30 healthy blood donors to the French national blood collection center (Établissement Français du Sang). We have set up a 16S rDNA quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay as well as a 16S targeted metagenomics sequencing pipeline specifically designed to analyze the blood microbiome, which we have used on whole blood as well as on different blood fractions (buffy coat [BC], red blood cells [RBCs], and plasma). RESULTS: Most of the blood bacterial DNA is located in the BC (93.74%), and RBCs contain more bacterial DNA (6.23%) than the plasma (0.03%). The distribution of 16S DNA is different for each fraction and spreads over a relatively broad range among donors. At the phylum level, blood fractions contain bacterial DNA mostly from the Proteobacteria phylum (more than 80%) but also from Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes. At deeper taxonomic levels, there are striking differences between the bacterial profiles of the different blood fractions. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that a diversified microbiome exists in healthy blood. This microbiome has most likely an important physiologic role and could be implicated in certain transfusion-transmitted bacterial infections. In this regard, the amount of 16S bacterial DNA or the microbiome profile could be monitored to improve the safety of the blood supply.
Authors: Neal B Shah; Andrew S Allegretti; Sagar U Nigwekar; Sahir Kalim; Sophia Zhao; Benjamin Lelouvier; Florence Servant; Gloria Serena; Ravi Ishwar Thadhani; Dominic S Raj; Alessio Fasano Journal: Clin J Am Soc Nephrol Date: 2019-04-08 Impact factor: 8.237
Authors: Puneet Puri; Suthat Liangpunsakul; Jeffrey E Christensen; Vijay H Shah; Patrick S Kamath; Gregory J Gores; Susan Walker; Megan Comerford; Barry Katz; Andrew Borst; Qigui Yu; Divya P Kumar; Faridoddin Mirshahi; Svetlana Radaeva; Naga P Chalasani; David W Crabb; Arun J Sanyal Journal: Hepatology Date: 2018-02-22 Impact factor: 17.425
Authors: Bina Joe; Cameron G McCarthy; Jonnelle M Edwards; Xi Cheng; Saroj Chakraborty; Tao Yang; Rachel M Golonka; Blair Mell; Ji-Youn Yeo; Nicole R Bearss; Janara Furtado; Piu Saha; Beng San Yeoh; Matam Vijay-Kumar; Camilla F Wenceslau Journal: Hypertension Date: 2020-10-19 Impact factor: 10.190
Authors: Emily E Noble; Ted M Hsu; Roshonda B Jones; Anthony A Fodor; Michael I Goran; Scott E Kanoski Journal: J Nutr Date: 2016-11-30 Impact factor: 4.798