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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Infectious Agents and Disease
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1507090

Dynamic microbial change in exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Provisionally accepted
Yong Jun Choi Yong Jun Choi Hye Jung Park Hye Jung Park Chi Young Kim Chi Young Kim Aeri Choi Aeri Choi Jae Hwa Cho Jae Hwa Cho Min Kwang Byun Min Kwang Byun *
  • Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Microbial profiles in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) provide insights for predicting, preventing, and treating exacerbations. This study aimed to analyze the impact of microbial diversity and spectrum on COPD exacerbation.From November 1, 2018, to May 31, 2023, we prospectively enrolled patients with stable disease (SD) and exacerbation of COPD (ECOPD). Sputum samples were collected for microbiome DNA sequencing, and amplicon sequence variants were analyzed.We collected sputum samples from 38 patients: 17 samples from patients with SD and samples from patients with ECOPD at two time points-during exacerbation (AE-1: 21 samples) and again during stabilization after 2 weeks of treatment (AE-2: 17 samples). Alpha diversity indices, specifically observed feature count and Fisher’s alpha index, were significantly higher in SD (133.0 [98.0–145.0]; 17.1 [12.7–19.6]) compared to AE-1 (88.0 [72.0–125.0], P=0.025; 10.9 [8.5–16.1], P=0.031). The SD showed significantly higher abundances of Neisseria (linear discriminant analysis [LDA] 4.996, adj.P=0.021), Fusobacterium (LDA 3.688, adj.P=0.047), and Peptostreptococcus (LDA 3.379, adj.P=0.039) at the genus level compared to AE-1. At the species level, N. perflava (LDA 5.074, adj.P=0.010) and H. parainfluenzae (LDA 4.467, adj. P=0.011) were more abundant in SD. Hub genera in the microbial network included Haemophilus, Granulicatella, Neisseria, Lactobacillus, and Butyrivibrio in SD and Streptococcus, Gemella, Actinomyces, Klebsiella, and Staphylococcus in AE-1. COPD exacerbations are linked to changes in specific strains of normal flora. Maintaining microbial diversity and balance within the microbial network is critical for preventing and managing COPD exacerbations.

    Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, microbiome, Exacerbations, Microbial Diversity, respiratory health, Disease mechanisms

    Received: 07 Oct 2024; Accepted: 13 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Choi, Park, Kim, Choi, Cho and Byun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Min Kwang Byun, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

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