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Updated: Jan 17, 2026
Noninvasive Sampling of Mucosal Lining Fluid for the Quantification of In Vivo Upper Airway Immune-mediator Levels
Published on: August 7, 2017
Microbiota diversity and differences in the respiratory tract of children with pneumonia
Dandan Ge1,2, Lingyun Hou3, Jintao Guo4
1Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Key Laboratory of Xiamen, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine Xiamen University Xiamen Fujian China.
Importance:
Although studies have examined the link between microbiota and airways, the understanding of microbial imbalances in the upper respiratory tract (URT) and lower respiratory tract (LRT) in pediatric pneumonia remains limited.
Objective:
To elucidate the microbial communities within these areas, shedding light on the microbiota's contribution to pneumonia progression and the underlying metabolic shifts.
Methods:
Pharyngeal swabs and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples were gathered from children with pneumonia and sequenced for 16S rDNA gene. Microbiota composition and differences between URT and LRT were analyzed.
Results:
Proteobacteria (40.91%), Firmicutes (25.61%), and Actinobacteria (12.77%) were the three most abundant phyla in the airways of the children with pneumonia. Richness (P = 0.003), Chao1 (P = 0.003), and abundance-based coverage estimator (P = 0.003) indices were significantly higher in the LRT than URT. Streptococus infantis was more abundant in the URT, whereas Cyanobacteria at the phylum level, Alphaproteobacteria and Chloroplast at the class level, Pseudomonadales, Burkholderiales, and Streptophyta at the order level, Moraxellaceae and Corynebacteriaceae at the family level, Moraxella and Corynebacterium at the genus level were more prevalent in the LRT. Multiple pathways such as d-glutamine and d-glutamate metabolism (P = 0.0032) were significantly activated in the URT, whereas inorganic ion transport metabolism (P = 0.0239) and tryptophan metabolism (P = 0.0284) were significantly activated in the LRT. Streptococcus genus negatively impacted blood indicators in those children.
Interpretation:
Our study characterizes the LRT and URT microbiota in pediatric pneumonia children and links them to clinical features, enhancing our understanding of the disease's pathogenesis.
Insights
This study reveals distinct microbial communities in the upper and lower airways of children with pneumonia. Understanding these differences is key to unraveling pediatric pneumonia pathogenesis.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Pediatrics
- Respiratory Medicine
Background:
- Limited understanding of microbial imbalances in pediatric pneumonia.
- Need to differentiate upper respiratory tract (URT) and lower respiratory tract (LRT) microbiota.
Purpose of the Study:
- Characterize URT and LRT microbial communities in pediatric pneumonia.
- Investigate the role of microbiota in pneumonia progression and metabolic shifts.
Main Methods:
- Collected pharyngeal swabs and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from children with pneumonia.
- Performed 16S rDNA gene sequencing to analyze microbiota composition.
- Compared microbial differences between URT and LRT samples.
Main Results:
- Identified Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria as dominant phyla.
- Observed significantly higher microbial richness and diversity in the LRT compared to the URT.
- Found distinct microbial compositions and activated metabolic pathways in URT and LRT, with Streptococcus genus negatively impacting blood indicators.
Conclusions:
- Provides a detailed characterization of LRT and URT microbiota in pediatric pneumonia.
- Links airway microbiota to clinical features, enhancing understanding of disease pathogenesis.
- Highlights the potential role of specific microbial imbalances in pediatric pneumonia severity.
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