Sputum microbiome in COPD patients

Microbiome data studying which microorganisms are responsible for exacerbations are limited in sputa of COPD patients. The lung microbiome is a new approach to add additional insights about the causal pathogens and the shift in bacterial community of COPD patients.The goal of this study was to identify which microorganism(s) may have triggered the exacerbations of COPD patients. We compared the sputa microbiome of COPD patients when clinically stable and during an exacerbation.This study shows a clear shift in the microbiome of patients during exacerbation, mostly toward Proteobacteria and Firmicutes.

目前针对慢性阻塞性肺疾病（Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, COPD）患者痰液样本的微生物组学研究中，关于引发其病情急性加重的相关微生物的数据仍较为有限。肺部微生物组为深入解析慢性阻塞性肺疾病患者的致病病原体及细菌群落结构变化提供了全新的研究视角。本研究的核心目标为明确究竟是何种微生物诱发了慢性阻塞性肺疾病患者的急性加重。我们对比了慢性阻塞性肺疾病患者处于临床稳定期与急性加重期时的痰液微生物组特征。本研究结果显示，患者在急性加重期的微生物组结构发生了显著变化，主要向变形菌门（Proteobacteria）与厚壁菌门（Firmicutes）偏移。