Cai Xingshan, Lin Yuan, Wu Bitong, Luo Yang, Li Kun
Department of Medical Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Tuberculosis Research, Guangzhou Chest Hospital, Institute of Tuberculosis, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangdong, 510095, P.R. China.
Department of Tuberculosis Internal Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Tuberculosis Research, Guangzhou Chest Hospital, Institute of Tuberculosis, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangdong, 510095, P.R. China.
BMC Microbiol. 2025 Jul 1;25(1):373. doi: 10.1186/s12866-025-04091-4.
The respiratory microbiome plays a crucial role in respiratory health and influences the onset and progression of tuberculosis (TB). However, changes in the respiratory microbiota of patients with rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) during the intensive-phase treatment have not been assessed. This study aimed to investigate the impact of a six-month intensive-phase treatment of second-line anti-TB drugs on the respiratory microbiota of RR-TB patients.
Sputum samples were collected from 14 RR-TB patients and 14 healthy controls. Microbiota composition was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and functional predictions were performed to assess metabolic pathway changes.
RR-TB patients exhibited significantly lower alpha diversity compared to healthy controls, but no significant changes were observed after six months of treatment. Beta diversity analysis revealed distinct clustering patterns between RR-TB patients and healthy controls, with no significant differences between pre- and post-treatment groups. Functional analysis showed reduced microbial functions related to pyruvate fermentation and amino acid metabolism in RR-TB patients.
These findings highlight the specific effects of second-line anti-TB drugs on the respiratory microbiota and suggest potential roles of respiratory ecological imbalance in RR-TB pathogenesis. Future studies could explore microbiome-based diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for RR-TB.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12866-025-04091-4.
呼吸道微生物群在呼吸健康中起着关键作用，并影响结核病（TB）的发病和进展。然而，耐利福平结核病（RR-TB）患者在强化期治疗期间呼吸道微生物群的变化尚未得到评估。本研究旨在调查二线抗结核药物六个月强化期治疗对RR-TB患者呼吸道微生物群的影响。
从14例RR-TB患者和14名健康对照中收集痰液样本。使用16S rRNA基因测序分析微生物群组成，并进行功能预测以评估代谢途径变化。
与健康对照相比，RR-TB患者的α多样性显著降低，但治疗六个月后未观察到显著变化。β多样性分析显示RR-TB患者和健康对照之间存在明显的聚类模式，治疗前和治疗后组之间无显著差异。功能分析表明，RR-TB患者中与丙酮酸发酵和氨基酸代谢相关的微生物功能降低。
这些发现突出了二线抗结核药物对呼吸道微生物群的特定影响，并提示呼吸道生态失衡在RR-TB发病机制中的潜在作用。未来的研究可以探索基于微生物群的RR-TB诊断和治疗策略。
在线版本包含可在10.1186/s12866-025-04091-4获取的补充材料。
