Unveiling the role of the upper respiratory tract microbiome in susceptibility and severity to COVID-19.

IF 4.6 2区医学 Q2 IMMUNOLOGY

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology Pub Date : 2025-05-13 eCollection Date: 2025-01-01 DOI:10.3389/fcimb.2025.1531084

Otávio von Ameln Lovison, Fabiana Caroline Zempulski Volpato, Lorenzo Gómez Weber, Afonso Luis Barth, Adriana Simon Coitinho, Andreza Francisco Martins

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

It is argued that commensal bacteria in the upper respiratory tract (URT) protect against pathogen colonization and infection, including respiratory viruses. Given that the microbiome can mediate immune modulation, a link between the URT microbiome (URTM) and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity is expected. This 16S metagenomics cross-sectional study assessed URTM composition, metabolic prediction, and association with laboratory biomarkers in non-COVID-19 pneumonia (NO-CoV), moderate (M-CoV), severe (S-CoV) COVID-19 patients, as well as COVID-19-negative, asymptomatic (NC) patients. The S-CoV group exhibited reduced URTM diversity, primarily due to a decreased abundance of eubiotic taxa. Some of these taxa (e.g., Haemophilus sp., Neisseria sp.) were also associated with inflammatory biomarkers. Multiple metabolic pathways (e.g., short-chain fatty acids, vitamin B12) linked to immune response, antiviral activity, and host susceptibility showed decreased abundance in S-CoV. These pathways could suggest potential alternatives for the therapeutic arsenal against COVID-19, providing reassurance about the progress in understanding and treating this disease.

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揭示上呼吸道微生物组在COVID-19易感性和严重程度中的作用。

有人认为，上呼吸道（URT）的共生细菌可以防止病原体定植和感染，包括呼吸道病毒。鉴于微生物组可以介导免疫调节，预计上呼吸道微生物组（URTM）与COVID-19易感性和严重程度之间存在联系。这项16S宏基因组横断面研究评估了非COVID-19肺炎（NO-CoV）、中度（M-CoV）、重度（S-CoV） COVID-19患者以及COVID-19阴性、无症状（NC）患者的URTM组成、代谢预测及其与实验室生物标志物的相关性。S-CoV组URTM多样性降低，主要是由于益生类群丰度降低。其中一些分类群（如嗜血杆菌，奈瑟菌）也与炎症生物标志物相关。与免疫反应、抗病毒活性和宿主易感性相关的多种代谢途径（如短链脂肪酸、维生素B12）在S-CoV中丰度下降。这些途径可能为针对COVID-19的治疗武器库提供潜在的替代方案，为了解和治疗这种疾病的进展提供保证。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology IMMUNOLOGY-MICROBIOLOGY

CiteScore

7.90

自引率

7.00%

发文量

1817

审稿时长

14 weeks

期刊介绍： Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology is a leading specialty journal, publishing rigorously peer-reviewed research across all pathogenic microorganisms and their interaction with their hosts. Chief Editor Yousef Abu Kwaik, University of Louisville is supported by an outstanding Editorial Board of international experts. This multidisciplinary open-access journal is at the forefront of disseminating and communicating scientific knowledge and impactful discoveries to researchers, academics, clinicians and the public worldwide. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology includes research on bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses, endosymbionts, prions and all microbial pathogens as well as the microbiota and its effect on health and disease in various hosts. The research approaches include molecular microbiology, cellular microbiology, gene regulation, proteomics, signal transduction, pathogenic evolution, genomics, structural biology, and virulence factors as well as model hosts. Areas of research to counteract infectious agents by the host include the host innate and adaptive immune responses as well as metabolic restrictions to various pathogenic microorganisms, vaccine design and development against various pathogenic microorganisms, and the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and its countermeasures.