National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, UK.
Clin Med (Lond). 2017 Dec;17(6):525-529. doi: 10.7861/clinmedicine.17-6-525.
The Human Microbiome Project began 10 years ago, leading to a significant growth in understanding of the role the human microbiome plays in health and disease. In this article, we explain with an emphasis on the lung, the origins of microbiome research. We discuss how 16S rRNA gene sequencing became the first major molecular tool to examine the bacterial communities present within the human body. We highlight the pitfalls of molecular-based studies, such as false findings resulting from contamination, and the limitations of 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Knowledge about the lung microbiome has evolved from initial scepticism to the realisation that it might have a significant influence on many illnesses. We also discuss the lung microbiome in the context of disease by giving examples of important respiratory conditions. In addition, we draw attention to the challenges for metagenomic studies of respiratory samples and the importance of systematic bacterial isolation to enable host-microbiome interactions to be understood. We conclude by discussing how knowledge of the lung microbiome impacts current clinical diagnostics.
人类微生物组计划始于 10 年前，这使得人们对人类微生物组在健康和疾病中的作用有了更深入的了解。在本文中，我们重点介绍了微生物组研究的起源——肺部。我们讨论了 16S rRNA 基因测序如何成为第一个主要的分子工具，用于检测人体内部存在的细菌群落。我们强调了基于分子的研究的缺陷，例如由于污染而导致的错误发现，以及 16S rRNA 基因测序的局限性。人们对肺部微生物组的认识已经从最初的怀疑转变为认识到它可能对许多疾病有重大影响。我们还通过举例说明重要的呼吸道疾病，从疾病的角度讨论了肺部微生物组。此外，我们还注意到了呼吸样本的宏基因组研究面临的挑战，以及进行系统细菌分离以了解宿主-微生物组相互作用的重要性。最后，我们讨论了对当前临床诊断的影响。
