The pulmonary microbiome: recent advances in understanding its role in chronic lung allograft dysfunction

Lung transplantation presents a rescue therapy for those with end-stage lung disease. Survival in lung transplant patients remains limited due to chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD), a range of pathologic manifestations leading to graft loss. The mechanisms underlying CLAD remain poorly understood, and the lung microbiome has been suggested as a potential contributor to this condition. This review aims to explore how the pulmonary microbiome is impacted by lung transplantation, and how alterations in this microbiome may contribute to the pathogenesis of CLAD.

The pulmonary microbiome is made up of a range of microorganisms, and it varies considerably in lung transplant patients when compared with healthy controls. The lung microbiome changes over the early transplant period, and the composition of species appears to have an impact on inflammatory responses within the lungs. A number of studies have shown that an increase in bacterial biomass in the allograft, and enrichment with the genera Proteobacteria, or more specifically, Pseudomonas species, is associated with CLAD.

This area of research is still in its infancy; however, the suggestion that changes in the composition of the microbiome and enrichment with certain species may predispose to the pathologic changes that underlie CLAD indicate that modulation of the microbiome may be of use in potential future therapeutics.