title: Microbial Communities of Conducting and Respiratory Zones of Lung-Transplanted Patients.
abstract: Background:Lung transplantation (LT) is a recognized treatment for end-stage pulmonary disease. Bacteria from the recipient nasopharynx seed the new lungs leading to infections and allograft damage. Understanding the characteristics and topological variations of the microbiota may be important to apprehend the pathophysiology of allograft dysfunction.Objectives:To examine the characteristics and relationship of bacterial compositions between conducting and respiratory zones of the allograft.Methods:We performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing on bronchial aspirates (BAs) and bronchoalveolar lavages (BALs) collected in pairs in 19 patients at several time-points post-LT.Results:The respiratory zone was characterized independently of the time post-LT by a higher bacterial richness than the conducting zone (p= 0.041). The phyla Firmicutes and Proteobacteria dominated both sampling zones, with an inverse correlation between these two phyla (Spearmanr= -0.830). Samples of the same pair, as well as pairs from the same individual clustered together (Pseudo-F= 3.8652,p< 0.01). Microbiota of BA and BAL were more closely related in samples from the same patient than each sample type across different patients, with variation in community structure being mainly inter-individual (p< 0.01). Both number of antibiotics administered (p< 0.01) and time interval post-LT (p< 0.01) contributed to the variation in global microbiota structure. Longitudinal analysis of BA-BAL pairs of two patients showed dynamic wave like fluctuations of the microbiota.Conclusions:Our results show that post-transplant respiratory zones harbor higher bacterial richness, but overall similar bacterial profiles as compared to conductive zones. They further support an individual microbial signature following LT.
authors.affiliation: Transplant Infectious Diseases Unit, Geneva University Hospitals and Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beaume
authors.affiliation: Genomic Research Laboratory, Geneva University Hospitals Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lazarevic
authors.affiliation: Transplant Infectious Diseases Unit, Geneva University Hospitals and Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Thilo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Köhler
authors.affiliation: Genomic Research Laboratory, Geneva University Hospitals Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gaïa
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Service and Transplantation Center, Lausanne University Hospital Center Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Oriol
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Manuel
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary Diseases, Lausanne University Hospital Center Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: John-David
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Aubert
authors.affiliation: Fasteris SA, Plan-les-Ouates Switzerland.
authors.forename: Loïc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baerlocher
authors.affiliation: Fasteris SA, Plan-les-Ouates Switzerland.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Farinelli
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary Diseases, Geneva University Hospitals Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gasche
authors.affiliation: Genomic Research Laboratory, Geneva University Hospitals Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schrenzel
authors.affiliation: Transplant Infectious Diseases Unit, Geneva University Hospitals and Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: van Delden
keywords: conducting airways; lung allograft; lung transplantation; microbiota; respiratory airways