Arca-Lafuente Sonia, Nuñez-Corcuera Beatriz, Ramis Rebeca, Karakitsios Spyros, Sarigiannis Denis, García Dos Santos Saúl, Fernández-Rodríguez Amanda, Briz Verónica
Viral Hepatitis Reference and Research Laboratory, National Center of Microbiology, Institute of Health Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain.
Respir Res. 2025 Mar 28;26(1):118. doi: 10.1186/s12931-025-03179-9.
Exposure to air pollutants has a direct impact on human health, resulting in increased mortality rates. Airborne particulate matter (PM) has major adverse effects on health and can be classified as high-risk respiratory particles (fine/PM, aerodynamic diameter < 2.5 µm) or thoracic particles (coarse/PM, aerodynamic diameter < 10 µm). In addition, airborne PM can carry microbial communities that alter the commensal microbiota and lead to dysbiosis. Our aim was to synthesize the current research evidence describing the association between air pollution exposure and the microbiome composition of the upper respiratory tract (URT) of the adult population. In this work, a systematic search of the PubMed, EMBASE and Scopus databases was conducted. A total of 9 studies published from 2018 to 2023 were included. 66.5% of the participants were exposed to PM concentrations higher than 40 µg/m, and data showed that PM atmospheric levels were positively correlated with PM (r = 0.95, p < 0.001). All the reviewed studies performed 16S rRNA sequencing of the V3-V4 region from URT samples, using different methods. Overall, evidence of URT microbiome alterations after high PM exposure was observed, with seasonal and geographical influence. Discordant findings were found about bacterial diversity, with a predominant decrease after exposure to high PM levels. Regarding microbiome composition, the relative abundance of the Actinobacteria phylum declined following exposure to high levels of PM, but that of Bacteroidetes and Fusobacteria increased. The studies showed a low-middle risk of bias due to heterogeneity regarding sample processing, sequencing methods, and confounder control. To confirm the observed evidence of an association between PM levels and alterations in the URT microbiome, we strongly recommend that future research work be conducted in accordance with standard guidelines for reporting microbiome studies. In summary, the entry of fine and coarse particles into the URT is associated with microbial dysbiosis, increasing the risk of developing respiratory diseases and allergies.Prospero registration: This systematic review was registered on PROSPERO (#CRD42023416230).
暴露于空气污染物对人类健康有直接影响，导致死亡率上升。空气中的颗粒物（PM）对健康有重大不利影响，可分为高风险呼吸颗粒（细颗粒物/PM，空气动力学直径<2.5微米）或可吸入颗粒物（粗颗粒物/PM，空气动力学直径<10微米）。此外，空气中的PM可携带微生物群落，这些群落会改变共生微生物群并导致生态失调。我们的目的是综合当前的研究证据，描述空气污染暴露与成年人群上呼吸道（URT）微生物组组成之间的关联。在这项工作中，我们对PubMed、EMBASE和Scopus数据库进行了系统检索。共纳入了2018年至2023年发表的9项研究。66.5%的参与者暴露于高于40μg/m的PM浓度，数据显示大气中的PM水平与PM呈正相关（r = 0.95，p < 0.001）。所有纳入研究均采用不同方法对URT样本的V3-V4区域进行了16S rRNA测序。总体而言，观察到高PM暴露后URT微生物组改变的证据，存在季节和地理影响。关于细菌多样性发现了不一致的结果，高PM水平暴露后细菌多样性主要下降。关于微生物组组成，放线菌门的相对丰度在暴露于高水平PM后下降，但拟杆菌门和梭杆菌门的相对丰度增加。由于样本处理、测序方法和混杂因素控制方面的异质性，这些研究显示出低至中等的偏倚风险。为了证实观察到的PM水平与URT微生物组改变之间关联的证据，我们强烈建议未来的研究工作按照微生物组研究报告的标准指南进行。总之，细颗粒物和粗颗粒物进入URT与微生物生态失调有关，增加了患呼吸道疾病和过敏的风险。
国际前瞻性系统评价注册平台（Prospero）注册信息：本系统评价已在Prospero上注册（#CRD42023416230）。
