School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Konggrid.10784.3a, Hong Kong, China.
Hong Kong Bioinformatics Center, The Chinese University of Hong Konggrid.10784.3a, Hong Kong, China.
Microbiol Spectr. 2022 Jun 29;10(3):e0012922. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.00129-22. Epub 2022 May 12.
Despite distinct nasopharyngeal microbiome (NPM) profiles between asthmatics and healthy subjects, little is known about the NPM dynamics and its relation to childhood asthma exacerbation (AE). We investigated NPM changes by longitudinally collecting 135 flocked nasopharyngeal swabs (FNPSs) from 33 school-age asthmatic children at six time points (2 to 4-week intervals) from September to December 2017 in Hong Kong. Subjects were categorized into AE and stable asthma (AS) groups according to whether they experienced any exacerbation during follow-up. One-off FNPSs from nine nonasthmatic children were included as controls. Microbiota profiles were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. All 144 NPMs were classified into six microbiome profile groups (MPGs), each dominated by , , , Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, or . The microbial diversity and compositions of NPM in exacerbation samples were different from both baseline samples and those from healthy controls. and -dominated NPM exhibited high temporal stability revealed by MPG transition analysis. NPM diversity decreased whereas microbial composition remained similar over time. The relative abundances of increased while , , and Pseudomonas decreased longitudinally. However, these temporal patterns did not differ between AE and AS groups, suggesting that short-term dynamic patterns were not sufficient to predict AE occurrence. Asthmatic NPM underwent expansion during AE and presented a high microbiome resilience (recovery potential) after AE resolution. Microbial pathways involved in methane, ketone bodies, and vitamin B3 metabolisms were enhanced during AE and primarily contributed by . Evidence on the dynamic changes of NPM in asthmatic patients remains limited. Here, we present that asthmatic NPMs deviating from a healthy status still showed resilience after disturbance. Our data imply from a longitudinal perspective that increase is closely related to AE occurrence. The finding of functional dysbiosis (imbalance) during AE offers a plausible explanation for the known association between nasopharyngeal expansion and increased AE risk. This work serves as a basis for future long-term prospective studies leveraging multiomics approaches to elucidate the temporal association between NPM and pediatric AE.
尽管哮喘患者和健康受试者的鼻咽微生物组（NPM）特征明显不同，但对于 NPM 的动态变化及其与儿童哮喘恶化（AE）的关系知之甚少。我们通过从 2017 年 9 月至 12 月在香港的 33 名学龄哮喘儿童中，在六个时间点（2 至 4 周间隔）纵向采集 135 个采集鼻咽拭子（FNPS），来研究 NPM 的变化。根据随访期间是否发生任何恶化，将受试者分为 AE 和稳定哮喘（AS）组。还纳入了 9 名非哮喘儿童的一次性 FNPS 作为对照。使用 16S rRNA 基因测序分析微生物组谱。所有 144 个 NPM 分为 6 个微生物组谱群（MPG），每个 MPG 分别由 、 、 、金黄色葡萄球菌、链球菌或 主导。恶化样本中的 NPM 微生物多样性和组成与基线样本和健康对照样本不同。通过 MPG 转换分析发现， 主导的 NPM 表现出高时间稳定性。随着时间的推移，NPM 的多样性减少，而微生物组成保持相似。相对丰度增加，而 、 、和假单胞菌纵向减少。然而，这些时间模式在 AE 和 AS 组之间没有差异，表明短期动态模式不足以预测 AE 的发生。AE 期间哮喘患者的 NPM 发生扩张，AE 解决后具有较高的微生物组弹性（恢复潜力）。AE 期间参与甲烷、酮体和维生素 B3 代谢的微生物途径增强，主要由 贡献。关于哮喘患者 NPM 动态变化的证据仍然有限。在这里，我们提出哮喘患者的 NPM 偏离健康状态后仍具有弹性。我们的数据从纵向角度表明，增加与 AE 的发生密切相关。AE 期间功能失调（失衡）的发现为鼻咽扩张与增加的 AE 风险之间的已知关联提供了一个合理的解释。这项工作为未来利用多组学方法阐明 NPM 与儿科 AE 之间的时间关联的长期前瞻性研究奠定了基础。
