1.
Comparison of Oropharyngeal Microbiota from Children with Asthma and Cystic Fibrosis.
Boutin, S, Depner, M, Stahl, M, Graeber, SY, Dittrich, SA, Legatzki, A, von Mutius, E, Mall, M, Dalpke, AH
Mediators of inflammation. 2017;2017:5047403
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The lungs are under constant exposure to microorganisms contained in inhaled air and the upper respiratory tract. In healthy subjects, the lower airways are colonized by bacteria. Changes in the microbiome are found in several lung diseases associated with chronic airway inflammation including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and cystic fibrosis. The aim of the study was to find out whether the throat microbiota of children with asthma and cystic fibrosis differ from healthy children. Another aim was to find out whether the throat microbiota of children with asthma differ from those with cystic fibrosis. The study compared the throat microbiota of healthy school-aged children with that of age-matched children with asthma and cystic fibrosis. Results indicate that the microbiota of cystic fibrosis, asthmatic, and healthy children show high levels of similarities with a strong core microbiota. The cystic fibrosis group show a decrease in both diversity and total bacterial load in the throat in comparison to asthmatic and control children. The cystic fibrosis group also showed a significant increase in typical pathogens in the throat. Based on the results, the authors conclude that the three patient groups had a core microbiome and a host regulation that favours the growth of commensals.
Abstract
A genuine microbiota resides in the lungs which emanates from the colonization by the oropharyngeal microbiota. Changes in the oropharyngeal microbiota might be the source of dysbiosis observed in the lower airways in patients suffering from asthma or cystic fibrosis (CF). To examine this hypothesis, we compared the throat microbiota from healthy children (n = 62) and that from children with asthma (n = 27) and CF (n = 57) aged 6 to 12 years using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Our results show high levels of similarities between healthy controls and children with asthma and CF revealing the existence of a core microbiome represented by Prevotella, Streptococcus, Neisseria, Veillonella, and Haemophilus. However, in CF, the global diversity, the bacterial load, and abundances of 53 OTUs were significantly reduced, whereas abundances of 6 OTUs representing opportunistic pathogens such as Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, and Streptococcus were increased compared to those in healthy controls controls and asthmatics. Our data reveal a core microbiome in the throat of healthy children that persists in asthma and CF indicating shared host regulation favoring growth of commensals. Furthermore, we provide evidence for dysbiosis with a decrease in diversity and biomass associated with the presence of known pathogens consistent with impaired host defense in children with CF.
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Synbiotic therapy decreases microbial translocation and inflammation and improves immunological status in HIV-infected patients: a double-blind randomized controlled pilot trial.
González-Hernández, LA, Jave-Suarez, LF, Fafutis-Morris, M, Montes-Salcedo, KE, Valle-Gutierrez, LG, Campos-Loza, AE, Enciso-Gómez, LF, Andrade-Villanueva, JF
Nutrition journal. 2012;11:90
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HIV causes gastrointestinal dysfunction and microbial translocation that can provoke local and systemic inflammation that may lead to disease progression. Inflammation and intestinal permeability increase and the reduction in immune defences creates the opportunity for microbial overgrowth and raised lipopolysaccharides levels, which may lead to disease progression. HIV-infected patients also tend to have low levels of beneficial bacteria. Probiotics have the potential to stimulate the immune system through IgA secretion and reduce inflammation. Prebiotics selectively stimulate the growth of some bacteria, altering the composition and metabolic activity of gut microbiota. This randomized, prospective, double-blind controlled pilot study evaluates use of probiotics and prebiotic to expand beneficial microbiota that help decrease bacterial translocation and pro-inflammatory cytokine production, thereby improving immune functions in HIV-infected subjects. 20 HIV-infected adult patients were divided into four groups (n=5 per group) to receive probiotics, synbiotic, a prebiotic, or placebo once daily for 16 weeks. Probiotics used were Lactobacillus rhamnosus plus Bifidobacterium lactis. From baseline to week 16, the synbiotic group showed a reduction in bacterial DNA concentrations in plasma. The probiotic and synbiotic groups demonstrated a decrease in total bacterial load in feces. The probiotic group showed a significant increase in beneficial bacteria load (such as Bifidobacterium and a decrease in harmful bacteria load (such as Clostridium). The synbiotic group had greater increases in CD4+ T-cell count and cytokine levels (IL-6) decreased significantly. Serious adverse effects previously reported with the use of probiotics in immunocompromised patients were not reported in this study. The authors found no decrease in HIV-1 plasma viral load so the use of a synbiotic for maintaining an undetectable viral load as part of the primary prevention of HIV transmission is not justified.
Abstract
BACKGROUND HIV-infection results in damage and dysfunction of the gastrointestinal system. HIV enteropathy includes pronounced CD4+ T-cell loss, increased intestinal permeability, and microbial translocation that promotes systemic immune activation, which is implicated in disease progression. A synbiotic is the combination of probiotics and prebiotics that could improve gut barrier function. Our study goal was to determine whether the use of a synbiotic, probiotics or a prebiotic can recover immunological parameters in HIV-infected subjects through of a reduction of microbial translocation and pro-inflammatory cytokine production. METHODS A randomized, double-blind controlled study was performed; twenty Antiretroviral treatment-naïve HIV-infected subjects were subgrouped and assigned to receive a synbiotic, probiotics, a prebiotic, or a placebo throughout 16 weeks. RESULTS We had no reports of serious adverse-events. From baseline to week 16, the synbiotic group showed a reduction in bacterial DNA concentrations in plasma (p = 0.048). Moreover, the probiotic and synbiotic groups demonstrated a decrease in total bacterial load in feces (p = 0.05). The probiotic group exhibited a significant increment of beneficial bacteria load (such as Bifidobacterium; p = 0.05) and a decrease in harmful bacteria load (such as Clostridium; p = 0.063). In the synbiotic group, the CD4+ T-cells count increased (median: +102 cells/μL; p = 0.05) and the level of Interleukin 6 cytokine decreased significantly (p = 0.016). CONCLUSIONS Our study showed a significant increase in CD4+ T lymphocyte levels in the synbiotic group, which could delay the initiation of antiretroviral therapy and decrease costs in countries with limited resources.