Pulmonology and Allergology Section, Pediatrics Unit, Pisa University Hospital, Pisa, Italy.
Retrovirus Center and Virology Section, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Pediatr Pulmonol. 2018 Oct;53(10):1340-1345. doi: 10.1002/ppul.24086. Epub 2018 Jun 26.
Asthma is the most common chronic disease in childhood. The pathogenesis of asthma is multifactorial and is thought to include environmental factors interacting with genetics during pregnancy and in the first years of life. In the last decades, a possible role of gut microbiota in allergic disease pathogenesis has been demonstrated. Next generation sequencing techniques have allowed the identification of a distinct microbiome in the healthy lungs. The lung microbiome is characterized by the prevalence of bacteria belonging to the phylum Bacteroidetes (mostly Prevotella and Veilonella spp) in healthy subjects and to the phylum Proteobacteria in asthmatics (mostly Haemophilus, Moraxella, and Neisseria spp). In asthma, as well as in other diseases, the lung microbiome composition changes due to a disruption of the delicate balance between immigration and elimination of bacteria. The lung microbiome can interact with the immune system, thus influencing inflammation. Early infections with viruses, such as respiratory syncytial virus, may alter lung microbiome composition favoring the emergence of Proteobacteria, a phylum which is also linked to severity of asthma and bronchial hyperreactivity. Lastly, antibiotics may alter the gut and lung microbiota and potentially disturb the relationship between microbiota and host. Therefore, antibiotics should be prescribed with increasing awareness of their potential harmful effect on the microbiota in young children with and without asthma. The potential effects of probiotics and prebiotics on lung microbiome are unknown.
哮喘是儿童中最常见的慢性疾病。哮喘的发病机制是多因素的,据认为包括怀孕期间和生命早期环境因素与遗传因素的相互作用。在过去的几十年中,肠道微生物群在过敏疾病发病机制中的可能作用已经得到证实。下一代测序技术已经能够在健康的肺部中识别出独特的微生物组。肺微生物组的特征是健康受试者中属拟杆菌门(主要是普雷沃氏菌属和韦荣球菌属)的细菌流行,而哮喘患者中则是属变形菌门(主要是嗜血杆菌属、莫拉菌属和奈瑟菌属)的细菌流行。在哮喘以及其他疾病中,由于细菌的移入和消除之间的微妙平衡被打破,肺微生物组的组成发生变化。肺微生物组可以与免疫系统相互作用,从而影响炎症。早期感染病毒,如呼吸道合胞病毒,可能会改变肺微生物组的组成,有利于变形菌门的出现,该菌门也与哮喘的严重程度和支气管高反应性有关。最后,抗生素可能会改变肠道和肺部微生物组,并可能破坏微生物组与宿主之间的关系。因此,在患有和不患有哮喘的婴幼儿中,应该在增加对其对微生物组潜在有害影响的认识的情况下开具抗生素。益生菌和益生元对肺微生物组的潜在影响尚不清楚。