Seear Paul J, Welsh Kathryn G, Satchwell Jack, Patel Deepa, Pashley Catherine H, Wardlaw Andrew J, Gaillard Erol A
Department of Respiratory Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
Department of Respiratory Sciences, College of Life Sciences, NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (Respiratory Theme), University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
Med Mycol. 2025 Jan 25;63(2). doi: 10.1093/mmy/myaf005.
Sensitisation to thermotolerant fungi such as Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans, which can colonise the airways, is associated with poor lung function in children with asthma. Dysbiosis of bacteria and fungi in the airway microbiome has been reported between health and asthma but has yet to be characterised for fungal-sensitised asthmatic children. We investigated if microbial diversity of the airways is altered in fungal-sensitised school-age asthmatic children. Sputum samples from children with asthma who were fungal sensitised (n = 22) and non-fungal sensitised (n = 17) along with children without asthma (n = 15), aged 5-16 years were profiled by traditional microbiological culture, modified fungal culture, bacterial 16S, and fungal ITS2 next-generation sequencing. Microbiota were compared between groups using alpha/beta diversity and differential abundance analysis. Bacterial alpha diversity was significantly lower in asthma compared to disease controls and in stable compared to acute asthma. Fungal alpha and beta diversity did not change between asthma states and disease controls, but alpha diversity was significantly lower in asthma samples from patients with positive A. fumigatus culture. Children sensitised to fungi had similar microbial diversity compared to non-sensitised children. However, in children not sensitised to fungi, those with a positive airway fungal culture had significantly lower fungal alpha diversity and bacterial beta differences compared to children with negative fungal culture. Fungal sensitisation did not alter bacterial or fungal microbiota in the airways of asthmatic children. However, positive airway fungal culture was associated with significant changes in microbial diversity, particularly in non-fungal sensitised children with asthma.
对烟曲霉和白色念珠菌等可在气道定植的耐热真菌致敏，与哮喘儿童的肺功能不佳有关。已有报道称，健康人群与哮喘患者的气道微生物群中细菌和真菌存在生态失调，但真菌致敏的哮喘儿童的情况尚未得到描述。我们调查了真菌致敏的学龄期哮喘儿童气道中的微生物多样性是否发生了改变。对5至16岁的真菌致敏哮喘儿童（n = 22）、非真菌致敏哮喘儿童（n = 17）以及无哮喘儿童（n = 15）的痰液样本，采用传统微生物培养、改良真菌培养、细菌16S和真菌ITS2二代测序进行分析。使用α/β多样性和差异丰度分析对各组微生物群进行比较。与疾病对照组相比，哮喘患者的细菌α多样性显著降低，与急性哮喘相比，稳定期哮喘患者的细菌α多样性也显著降低。哮喘状态与疾病对照组之间真菌的α和β多样性没有变化，但烟曲霉培养阳性患者的哮喘样本中真菌α多样性显著降低。与未致敏儿童相比，对真菌致敏的儿童具有相似的微生物多样性。然而，在未对真菌致敏的儿童中，气道真菌培养阳性的儿童与真菌培养阴性的儿童相比，真菌α多样性显著降低，细菌β差异也显著降低。真菌致敏并未改变哮喘儿童气道中的细菌或真菌微生物群。然而，气道真菌培养阳性与微生物多样性的显著变化有关，尤其是在未对真菌致敏的哮喘儿童中。
