Data_Sheet_1_The Interactions of Airway Bacterial and Fungal Communities in Clinically Stable Asthma.docx

Dysbiotic airway microbiota play important roles in the inflammatory progression of asthma, and exploration of airway microbial interactions further elucidates asthma pathogenesis. However, little is known regarding the airway bacterial-fungal interactions in asthma patients. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of the sputum bacterial and fungal microbiota from 116 clinically stable asthma patients and 29 healthy controls using 16S rRNA gene and ITS1 sequencing. Compared with healthy individuals, asthma patients exhibited a significantly altered microbiota and increased bacterial and fungal alpha diversities in the airway. Microbial genera Moraxella, Capnocytophaga, and Ralstonia (bacteria) and Schizophyllum, Candida, and Phialemoniopsis (fungi) were more abundant in the asthma airways, while Rothia, Veillonella and Leptotrichia (bacteria) and Meyerozyma (fungus) were increased in healthy controls. The Moraxellaceae family and their genus Moraxella were significantly enriched in asthma patients compared with healthy controls (80.5-fold, P = 0.007 and 314.7-fold, P = 0.027, respectively). Moreover, Moraxellaceae, along with Schizophyllum, Candida, and Aspergillus (fungal genera), were positively associated with fungal alpha diversity. Correlation networks revealed 3 fungal genera (Schizophyllum, Candida, and Aspergillus) as important airway microbes in asthma that showed positive correlations with each other and multiple co-exclusions with other common microbiota. Moraxellaceae members were positively associated with asthma-enriched fungal taxa but negatively related to several healthy-enriched bacterial taxa. Collectively, our findings revealed an altered microbiota and complex microbial interactions in the airways of asthma patients. The Moraxellaceae family and their genus Moraxella, along with 3 important fungal taxa, showed significant interactions with the airway microbiota, providing potential insights into the novel pathogenic mechanisms of asthma.

呼吸道菌群失调在哮喘的炎症进展中扮演着重要的角色，而对呼吸道微生物相互作用的探究亦有助于阐明哮喘的发病机制。然而，关于哮喘患者呼吸道细菌与真菌相互作用的研究知之甚少。本研究通过对116名临床稳定的哮喘患者和29名健康对照者的痰液细菌和真菌微生物组进行16S rRNA基因和ITS1测序，开展了一项横断面调查。与健康个体相比，哮喘患者表现出显著的菌群改变以及呼吸道中细菌和真菌的α多样性增加。莫拉氏菌属（Moraxella）、卡波菌属（Capnocytophaga）和拉尔森菌属（Ralstonia）（均为细菌）以及锯菌属（Schizophyllum）、念珠菌属（Candida）和皮亚莱莫尼氏菌属（Phialemoniopsis）（均为真菌）在哮喘气道中更为丰富，而罗氏菌属（Rothia）、韦荣球菌属（Veillonella）和毛螺菌属（Leptotrichia）（均为细菌）以及梅耶酵母属（Meyerozyma）（真菌）在健康对照组中增加。与健康对照组相比，莫拉氏菌科及其属莫拉氏菌在哮喘患者中的富集程度显著（分别为80.5倍，P = 0.007和314.7倍，P = 0.027）。此外，莫拉氏菌科及其伴随的锯菌属、念珠菌属和曲霉菌属（真菌属）与真菌的α多样性呈正相关。相关性网络揭示了3个真菌属（锯菌属、念珠菌属和曲霉菌属）是哮喘中重要的呼吸道微生物，它们相互之间表现出正相关，并与多种共排除的其他常见微生物群相互作用。莫拉氏菌科成员与哮喘富集的真菌类群呈正相关，但与多种健康富集的细菌类群呈负相关。综上所述，我们的研究结果揭示了哮喘患者呼吸道菌群发生改变及复杂的微生物相互作用。莫拉氏菌科及其属莫拉氏菌，连同3个重要的真菌类群，与呼吸道微生物群显示出显著的相互作用，为哮喘的新型致病机制提供了潜在的见解。