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Updated: Nov 3, 2025

Infection of Primary Nasal Epithelial Cells Grown at an Air-Liquid Interface to Characterize Human Coronavirus-Host Interactions
Published on: September 22, 2023
Nasopharyngeal Microbiota in SARS-CoV-2 Positive and Negative Patients
Phillip A Engen1, Ankur Naqib1, Cheryl Jennings2
1Rush Medical College, Rush Center for Integrated Microbiome and Chronobiology Research, Rush University Medical Center, 1725 W. Harrison St. STE 206, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
Abstract:
We investigated nasopharyngeal microbial community structure in COVID-19-positive and -negative patients. High-throughput 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed significant microbial community structure differences between COVID-19-positive and -negative patients. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that: (1) nasopharyngeal microbiome communities can be assessed using collection samples already collected for SARS-CoV-2 testing (viral transport media) and (2) SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with altered dysbiotic microbial profiles which could be a biomarker for disease progression and prognosis in SARS-CoV-2.
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