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Oral Biofilm Sampling for Microbiome Analysis in Healthy Children
Published on: December 31, 2017
The impact of persistent bacterial bronchitis on the pulmonary microbiome of children
Leah Cuthbertson1,2, Vanessa Craven3, Lynne Bingle4
1National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom.
Insights
Persistent bacterial bronchitis (PBB) in children shows reduced airway bacterial diversity compared to healthy controls. This finding highlights the importance of analyzing the respiratory microbiota for earlier diagnosis and treatment of chronic wet cough.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Genomics
Background:
- Persistent bacterial bronchitis (PBB) is a primary cause of chronic wet cough in young children.
- Understanding the respiratory bacterial microbiota is crucial for diagnosing and managing PBB.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the respiratory bacterial microbiota in healthy children.
- To assess how microbial changes in the airways are associated with the development of PBB.
Main Methods:
- Collected protected brushings from 20 healthy children and 24 with PBB.
- Performed 16S rRNA gene quantitative PCR and sequencing for microbial community analysis.
- Validated the use of blind brushings for accessing airway microbiota.
Main Results:
- Blind brushings are a valid method for airway microbiota sampling.
- Children with PBB exhibited significantly lower bacterial diversity and altered community composition compared to controls.
- Proteobacteria, Haemophilus, and Neisseria were dominant in PBB patients.
- Routine clinical culture often failed to identify the dominant organism found by sequencing.
Conclusions:
- The lung bacteria in PBB patients are less diverse (reduced richness and evenness).
- Findings validate clinical PBB diagnosis and emphasize the role of airway microbiota.
- Focusing on bacterial communities may enable earlier PBB recognition and treatment, reducing disease burden.
Introduction:
Persistent bacterial bronchitis (PBB) is a leading cause of chronic wet cough in young children. This study aimed to characterise the respiratory bacterial microbiota of healthy children and to assess the impact of the changes associated with the development of PBB. Blind, protected brushings were obtained from 20 healthy controls and 24 children with PBB, with an additional directed sample obtained from PBB patients. DNA was extracted, quantified using a 16S rRNA gene quantitative PCR assay prior to microbial community analysis by 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
Results:
No significant difference in bacterial diversity or community composition (R2 = 0.01, P = 0.36) was observed between paired blind and non-blind brushes, showing that blind brushings are a valid means of accessing the airway microbiota. This has important implications for collecting lower respiratory samples from healthy children. A significant decrease in bacterial diversity (P < 0.001) and change in community composition (R2 = 0.08, P = 0.004) was observed among controls, in comparison with patients. Bacterial communities within patients with PBB were dominated by Proteobacteria, and indicator species analysis showed that Haemophilus and Neisseria were significantly associated with the patient group. In 15 (52.9%) cases the dominant organism by sequencing was not identified by standard routine clinical culture.
Conclusion:
The bacteria present in the lungs of patients with PBB were less diverse in terms of richness and evenness. The results validate the clinical diagnosis, and suggest that more attention to bacterial communities in children with chronic cough may lead to more rapid recognition of this condition with earlier treatment and reduction in disease burden.
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