Martin Depner1, Markus J Ege2, Michael J Cox3, Sarah Dwyer3, Alan W Walker4, Lena T Birzele5, Jon Genuneit6, Elisabeth Horak7, Charlotte Braun-Fahrländer8, Hanna Danielewicz9, Raina M Maier10, Miriam F Moffatt3, William O Cookson3, Dick Heederik11, Erika von Mutius2, Antje Legatzki5. 1. Dr von Hauner Children's Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany. Electronic address: martin.depner@med.uni-muenchen.de. 2. Dr von Hauner Children's Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany; German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Munich, Germany. 3. National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom. 4. Pathogen Genomics Group, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom. 5. Dr von Hauner Children's Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany. 6. Institute of Epidemiology and Medical Biometry, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany. 7. Division of Cardiology and Pulmonology, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescents, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria. 8. Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. 9. Department of Pediatrics, Allergology and Cardiology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland. 10. Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz. 11. Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Division of Environmental Epidemiology, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Patients with asthma and healthy controls differ in bacterial colonization of the respiratory tract. The upper airways have been shown to reflect colonization of the lower airways, the actual site of inflammation in asthma, which is hardly accessible in population studies. OBJECTIVE: We sought to characterize the bacterial communities at 2 sites of the upper respiratory tract obtained from children from a rural area and to relate these to asthma. METHODS: The microbiota of 327 throat and 68 nasal samples from school-age farm and nonfarm children were analyzed by 454-pyrosequencing of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene. RESULTS: Alterations in nasal microbiota but not of throat microbiota were associated with asthma. Children with asthma had lower α- and β-diversity of the nasal microbiota as compared with healthy control children. Furthermore, asthma presence was positively associated with a specific operational taxonomic unit from the genus Moraxella in children not exposed to farming, whereas in farm children Moraxella colonization was unrelated to asthma. In nonfarm children, Moraxella colonization explained the association between bacterial diversity and asthma to a large extent. CONCLUSIONS: Asthma was mainly associated with an altered nasal microbiota characterized by lower diversity and Moraxella abundance. Children living on farms might not be susceptible to the disadvantageous effect of Moraxella. Prospective studies may clarify whether Moraxella outgrowth is a cause or a consequence of loss in diversity.
BACKGROUND: Patients with asthma and healthy controls differ in bacterial colonization of the respiratory tract. The upper airways have been shown to reflect colonization of the lower airways, the actual site of inflammation in asthma, which is hardly accessible in population studies. OBJECTIVE: We sought to characterize the bacterial communities at 2 sites of the upper respiratory tract obtained from children from a rural area and to relate these to asthma. METHODS: The microbiota of 327 throat and 68 nasal samples from school-age farm and nonfarm children were analyzed by 454-pyrosequencing of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene. RESULTS: Alterations in nasal microbiota but not of throat microbiota were associated with asthma. Children with asthma had lower α- and β-diversity of the nasal microbiota as compared with healthy control children. Furthermore, asthma presence was positively associated with a specific operational taxonomic unit from the genus Moraxella in children not exposed to farming, whereas in farm children Moraxella colonization was unrelated to asthma. In nonfarm children, Moraxella colonization explained the association between bacterial diversity and asthma to a large extent. CONCLUSIONS: Asthma was mainly associated with an altered nasal microbiota characterized by lower diversity and Moraxella abundance. Children living on farms might not be susceptible to the disadvantageous effect of Moraxella. Prospective studies may clarify whether Moraxella outgrowth is a cause or a consequence of loss in diversity.
Authors: Glenn R Gibson; Robert Hutkins; Mary Ellen Sanders; Susan L Prescott; Raylene A Reimer; Seppo J Salminen; Karen Scott; Catherine Stanton; Kelly S Swanson; Patrice D Cani; Kristin Verbeke; Gregor Reid Journal: Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol Date: 2017-06-14 Impact factor: 46.802
Authors: A R Sitarik; S Havstad; A M Levin; S V Lynch; K E Fujimura; D R Ownby; C C Johnson; G Wegienka Journal: Indoor Air Date: 2018-03-13 Impact factor: 5.770
Authors: Sharon M Carney; Jose C Clemente; Michael J Cox; Robert P Dickson; Yvonne J Huang; Georgios D Kitsios; Kirsten M Kloepfer; Janice M Leung; Tricia D LeVan; Philip L Molyneaux; Bethany B Moore; David N O'Dwyer; Leopoldo N Segal; Stavros Garantziotis Journal: Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol Date: 2020-03 Impact factor: 6.914