ena-STUDY-NATIONAL HEART AND LUNG INSTITUTE, IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON-05-04-2019-11:44:51:387-115
Viral respiratory tract infections and oropharyngeal microbiome interactions in wheezing children
Early life exposure to both environmental and infectious microorganisms have been implicated as major risk factors in future disease susceptibility. Acute viral infections resulting in respiratory wheeze are not only a major reason for hospital admission in children but also a risk factor for development of asthma. To investigate if the microbiota in the lungs of children was associated with wheeze respiratory samples from children attending a paediatric hospital in Perth were compared to healthy controls using viral PCR and 16s rRNA gene qPCR and sequencing. No significant difference in bacterial diversity was observed between samples from those with wheeze and healthy controls. Within the wheeze cohort, attendance at kindergarten or preschool was associated with increased bacterial diversity. Bacterial biomass was a significant factor in explaining the variation in beta diversity.  Human rhinovirus (HRV) infection was not found to have a significant effect on bacterial alpha or beta diversity.  A significant difference in bacterial richness was observed between HRV-A and HRV-C, however this is likely due to the differences in age group between the to patient cohorts. Random forest models were unable to successfully predict individual OTU's associated with wheeze or viral infection in this dataset due to the variation in the bacterial community.  The bacterial community within the lungs was found to be diverse and heterogeneous. Age and contact with children at day care or kindergarten were important factors in driving bacterial diversity. However, wheeze and viral infection were not found to show significant differences in the bacterial community.
Early life exposure to both environmental and infectious microorganisms have been implicated as major risk factors in future disease susceptibility. Acute viral infections resulting in respiratory wheeze are not only a major reason for hospital admission in children but also a risk factor for development of asthma. To investigate if the microbiota in the lungs of children was associated with wheeze respiratory samples from children attending a paediatric hospital in Perth were compared to healthy controls using viral PCR and 16s rRNA gene qPCR and sequencing. No significant difference in bacterial diversity was observed between samples from those with wheeze and healthy controls. Within the wheeze cohort, attendance at kindergarten or preschool was associated with increased bacterial diversity. Bacterial biomass was a significant factor in explaining the variation in beta diversity.  Human rhinovirus (HRV) infection was not found to have a significant effect on bacterial alpha or beta diversity.  A significant difference in bacterial richness was observed between HRV-A and HRV-C, however this is likely due to the differences in age group between the to patient cohorts. Random forest models were unable to successfully predict individual OTU's associated with wheeze or viral infection in this dataset due to the variation in the bacterial community.  The bacterial community within the lungs was found to be diverse and heterogeneous. Age and contact with children at day care or kindergarten were important factors in driving bacterial diversity. However, wheeze and viral infection were not found to show significant differences in the bacterial community.