Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, China.
Institute of Ecological Sciences, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
Nat Med. 2023 Jul;29(7):1750-1759. doi: 10.1038/s41591-023-02424-2. Epub 2023 Jun 22.
Exposure to environmental pollution influences respiratory health. The role of the airway microbial ecosystem underlying the interaction of exposure and respiratory health remains unclear. Here, through a province-wide chronic obstructive pulmonary disease surveillance program, we conducted a population-based survey of bacterial (n = 1,651) and fungal (n = 719) taxa and metagenomes (n = 1,128) from induced sputum of 1,651 household members in Guangdong, China. We found that cigarette smoking and higher PM concentration were associated with lung function impairment through the mediation of bacterial and fungal communities, respectively, and that exposure was associated with an enhanced inter-kingdom microbial interaction resembling the pattern seen in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Enrichment of Neisseria was associated with a 2.25-fold increased risk of high respiratory symptom burden, coupled with an elevation in Aspergillus, in association with occupational pollution. We developed an individualized microbiome-based health index, which covaried with exposure, respiratory symptoms and diseases, with potential generalizability to global datasets. Our results may inform environmental risk prevention and guide interventions that harness airway microbiome.
暴露于环境污染会影响呼吸健康。暴露与呼吸健康相互作用所涉及的气道微生物生态系统的作用尚不清楚。在这里，我们通过一个全省范围的慢性阻塞性肺疾病监测计划，对来自中国广东的 1651 名家庭成员的诱导痰中的细菌（n=1651）和真菌（n=719）分类群以及宏基因组（n=1128）进行了基于人群的调查。我们发现，吸烟和较高的 PM 浓度分别通过细菌和真菌群落的中介作用与肺功能损害有关，并且暴露与增强的种间微生物相互作用有关，这种模式类似于慢性阻塞性肺疾病。奈瑟氏菌的富集与高呼吸道症状负担的风险增加 2.25 倍有关，同时与职业污染相关的曲霉菌也会增加。我们开发了一种基于个体化微生物组的健康指数，该指数与暴露、呼吸症状和疾病有关，具有推广到全球数据集的潜力。我们的研究结果可能为环境风险预防提供信息，并指导利用气道微生物组的干预措施。
