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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Thoracic Oncology
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1492571
This article is part of the Research Topic Lung Microbiome in Health and Disease View all 4 articles

A novel interplay between bacteria and metabolites in different earlystage lung cancer: An integrated microbiome and metabolome analysis

Provisionally accepted
Xiaoqian Zhai Xiaoqian Zhai 1Dongqi Lin Dongqi Lin 1Yi Shen Yi Shen 2Fan Yu Fan Yu 1Jiabi Zhang Jiabi Zhang 3Yiyun Lin Yiyun Lin 4Qinghua Zhou Qinghua Zhou 1Xi Zheng Xi Zheng 1*
  • 1 West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
  • 2 West China Fourth Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 3 The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
  • 4 Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States

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

    The carcinogenesis mechanism of early-stage lung cancer (ESLC) remains poorly understood, with microbial dysbiosis playing a key role in tumor development. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between microbiota dysbiosis and ESLC, analyzing 108 surgical specimens of lung nodules, including ground glass nodules (GGN) and solid nodules (SN) diagnosed as lung adenocarcinoma, lung squamous carcinoma (LUSC), and benign pulmonary nodules (BPD). 16S rDNA sequencing and non-targeted metabolomics were performed on all specimens.Our findings revealed significantly lower microbiota richness in SN compared to GGN and LUSC. Ralstonia may promote early lung adenocarcinoma, while Feacalibacterium and Blautia appear protective in the progression from GGN to SN. Akkermansia, Escherichia-shigella, and Klebsiella were abundant in early LUSC. Differential metabolites in early adenocarcinomas (SN and GGN) were primarily involved in energy metabolism, while early LUSC focused on glutathione metabolism, maintaining intracellular redox homeostasis. Correlation analysis indicated that microbiota in GGN may influence energy metabolism via N-Acetyl-1-aspartylglutamic acid (NAAG), while creatine and N-Acetylmethionine were linked to LUSC microbiota activity.This study highlights distinct microbial compositions and metabolic pathways in early-stage lung adenocarcinoma and squamous carcinoma. Ralstonia promotes early lung adenocarcinoma, while Feacalibacterium and Blautia protect against progression. Akkermansia, Escherichia-shigella, and Klebsiella are associated with early LUSC. The differential metabolites suggest differing metabolic roles in energy and glutathione metabolism between adenocarcinomas and squamous carcinoma. These findings offer new insights into ESLC carcinogenesis and suggest potential microbial and metabolic biomarkers for future therapeutic strategies.Importance: The study compares microbial composition and metabolites between early-stage lung squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma and explores their relationship, laying the groundwork for future therapeutic research.

    Keywords: Early-stage lung cancer, microbiome, Metabolome, Correlation analysis, Carcinogenesis

    Received: 10 Sep 2024; Accepted: 20 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhai, Lin, Shen, Yu, Zhang, Lin, Zhou and Zheng. 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: Xi Zheng, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.