Relationship between cystic fibrosis respiratory tract bacterial communities and age, genotype, antibiotics and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Polymicrobial bronchopulmonary infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) cause progressive lung damage and death. Although the arrival of Pseudomonas aeruginosa often heralds a more rapid rate of pulmonary decline, there is significant inter-individual variation in the rate of decline, the causes of which remain poorly understood. By coupling culture-independent methods with ecological analyses, we discovered correlations between bacterial community profiles and clinical disease markers in respiratory tracts of 45 children with CF. Bacterial community complexity was inversely correlated with patient age, presence of P. aeruginosa and antibiotic exposure, and was related to CF genotype. Strikingly, bacterial communities lacking P. aeruginosa were much more similar to each other than were those containing P. aeruginosa, regardless of antibiotic exposure. This suggests that community composition might be a better predictor of disease progression than the presence of P. aeruginosa alone and deserves further study.
Klepac-Ceraj
Vanja
V
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. vanjakle@gmail.com
Lemon
Katherine P
KP
Martin
Thomas R
TR
Allgaier
Martin
M
Kembel
Steven W
SW
Knapp
Alixandra A
AA
Lory
Stephen
S
Brodie
Eoin L
EL
Lynch
Susan V
SV
Bohannan
Brendan J M
BJ
Green
Jessica L
JL
Maurer
Brian A
BA
Kolter
Roberto
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*; D019005:Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator / Q000235:genetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000382:microbiology; D009960:Oropharynx / Q000382:microbiology; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000382:microbiology*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D019005:Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator