The lung microbiome in interstitial lung disease.

Abstract

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a heterogeneous chronic form of lung disease. The pathogenesis of ILD is poorly understood and a common form of ILD, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is associated with poor prognosis. There is evidence for substantial dysregulated immune responses in ILD. The microbiome is a key regulator of the immune response, and the lung microbiome correlates with alveolar immunity and clinical outcomes in ILD. Most observational lung microbiome studies have been conducted in patients with IPF. A consistent observation in these studies is that the bacterial burden of the lung is elevated in patients with IPF and predicts mortality. However, our understanding of the mechanism is incomplete and our understanding of the role of the lung microbiome in other forms of ILD is limited. The microbiomes of the oropharynx and gut may have implications for the lung microbiome and pulmonary immunity in ILD but require substantial further research. Here, we discuss the studies supporting a role for the lung microbiome in the pathogenesis of IPF, and briefly describe the putative role of the oral-lung axis and the gut-lung axis in ILD.