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Updated: Nov 11, 2025
Noninvasive Sampling of Mucosal Lining Fluid for the Quantification of In Vivo Upper Airway Immune-mediator Levels
Published on: August 7, 2017
Lung virome: New potential biomarkers for asthma severity and exacerbation
Sungmi Choi1, Kyoung-Hee Sohn2, Jae-Woo Jung3
1Institute for Biomaterials, Korea University, Seoul, Korea; Interdisciplinary Program in Precision Public Health, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
Background:
Although some respiratory virus infections are known to contribute to the development and exacerbation of asthma, commensal viromes in airway have not been extensively studied due to technical challenges.
Objectives:
This study investigated the characteristics of the virome in asthmatic airways.
Methods:
Both the bacteriome and virome profiles in sputum from 12 healthy individuals, 15 patients with nonsevere asthma, and 15 patients with severe asthma were analyzed and assessed for the association with clinical characteristics such as severity, exacerbation, Asthma Control Test (ACT), and lung function.
Results:
While analysis of the 16S ribosomal RNA bacteriome in the airway showed no differences, clear contrasts in the diversity and composition of airway viromes were observed between healthy controls and patients with asthma. Herpesviruses were the most abundant type of virus in the asthma group (44.6 ± 4.6%), mainly with cytomegalovirus (CMV) and EBV accounting for 24.5 ± 3.3% and 16.9 ± 3.5%, respectively, in contrast to those in the healthy controls (5.4 ± 2.5% and 7.1 ± 3.0%, respectively). CMV and EBV were more abundant in patients with asthma who experienced exacerbation, and their abundance showed correlation with more severe asthma, lower ACT score, and lower lung function. On the contrary, bacteriophage that is abundant in healthy controls was severely reduced in patients with asthma in the order of nonsevere and severe asthma and presented significant positive correlation with ACT and FEV1/forced vital capacity.
Conclusions:
Lung viromes, especially, CMV, EBV, and bacteriophage may be potential biomarkers of asthma severity and exacerbation.
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