Pulmonary Section, Medical Service, Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Transl Res. 2012 Oct;160(4):258-66. doi: 10.1016/j.trsl.2012.02.005. Epub 2012 Feb 28.
Investigation of the lung microbiome is a relatively new field. Although the lungs were classically believed to be sterile, recently published investigations have identified microbial communities in the lungs of healthy humans. At the present time, there are significant methodologic and technical hurdles that must be addressed in ongoing investigations, including distinguishing the microbiota of the upper and lower respiratory tracts. However, characterization of the lung microbiome is likely to provide important pathogenic insights into cystic fibrosis, respiratory disease of the newborn, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and asthma. In addition to characterization of the lung microbiome, the microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract have profound influence on the development and maintenance of lung immunity and inflammation. Further study of gastrointestinal-respiratory interactions is likely to yield important insights into the pathogenesis of pulmonary diseases, including asthma. As this field advances over the next several years, we anticipate that studies using larger cohorts, multicenter designs, and longitudinal sampling will add to our knowledge and understanding of the lung microbiome.
肺部微生物组的研究是一个相对较新的领域。尽管经典理论认为肺部是无菌的，但最近发表的研究已经在健康人群的肺部中鉴定出了微生物群落。目前，在正在进行的研究中，存在着显著的方法学和技术障碍，需要加以解决，包括区分上呼吸道和下呼吸道的微生物群。然而，对肺部微生物组的特征描述很可能为囊性纤维化、新生儿呼吸疾病、慢性阻塞性肺疾病和哮喘等疾病的发病机制提供重要的见解。除了肺部微生物组的特征描述外，胃肠道微生物群对肺部免疫和炎症的发展和维持也有深远的影响。进一步研究胃肠道-呼吸道的相互作用，可能会深入了解包括哮喘在内的肺部疾病的发病机制。随着这一领域在未来几年的发展，我们预计使用更大的队列、多中心设计和纵向采样的研究将增加我们对肺部微生物组的认识和理解。
