Gut and respiratory microbiome associated with response to treatment in nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease

The microbiome holds significant potential as a robust biomarker for evaluating clinical outcomes and treatment responses in individuals afflicted with Mycobacterium abscessus infection. In pursuit of discerning distinctive features within the gut and airway microbiomes correlated with antibiotic treatment responsiveness in M. abscessus patients, we conducted a prospective cohort study. This study involved systematically enrolling patients undergoing antibiotic therapy for M. abscessus infection. Subsequently, we collected stool and sputum samples at baseline, two weeks, and six months post-treatment. Employing a 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing methodology, we comprehensively characterized the gut and airway microbiomes to delineate the microbial landscape alterations associated with treatment responses.