你的呼吸道有一個微生物群，它甚至可能與哮喘有關

你的呼吸道有一個微生物群，它甚至可能與哮喘有關

It's well established that our guts play host to entire communities we now call the microbiome. But, being as microbe-ridden as our species is, we also have microbiomes in other parts of our bodies - including the lungs. Now, scientists have found what looks like a link between airway microbiomes and asthma severity in children.

眾所周知，我們的腸道是我們現(xiàn)在稱為微生物群落的整個群落的宿主。但是，盡管我們的物種被微生物所充斥，我們身體的其他部位也有微生物群落——包括肺。現(xiàn)在，科學家們發(fā)現(xiàn)了呼吸道微生物與兒童哮喘嚴重程度之間的聯(lián)系。

The research isn't enough to prove that different mixes of bacteria are what makes asthma worse or better, but it does show there's some kind of correlation – and that might eventually help doctors manage asthma more effectively.

這項研究還不足以證明不同的細菌組合是導致哮喘惡化或好轉的原因，但它確實表明了某種相關性——這可能最終有助于醫(yī)生更有效地控制哮喘。

Nasal mucus samples were collected from 214 kids aged between 5 and 11, all with mild to moderate asthma – once when their asthma was well controlled, and once at the first signs of it flaring up. And the upper airway microbiomes looked rather different at those two points.

我們收集了214名5 - 11歲的兒童的鼻腔粘液樣本，這些兒童都患有輕度至中度哮喘，其中有一次他們的哮喘得到了很好的控制，還有一次是在哮喘剛開始發(fā)作的時候。上呼吸道的微生物群落在這兩點上看起來很不一樣。

Our data demonstrated a rapid change of the airway microbiome in the children who transitioned from respiratory health to disease, says microbiologist Yanjiao Zhou from the University of Connecticut, who was at Washington University at the time of the study.

來自康涅狄格大學的微生物學家周燕姣(音譯)說:“我們的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，從呼吸道健康過渡到疾病的兒童呼吸道微生物組發(fā)生了快速變化。”

It is also intriguing to find that the microbiome changing pattern could play an important role in asthma exacerbation. We are planning future studies to explore this possibility.

“有趣的是，發(fā)現(xiàn)微生物組的變化模式可能在哮喘加重中發(fā)揮重要作用。我們正在計劃未來的研究來探索這種可能性。”

Children who experienced the early warning signs of an asthma flare up were more likely to have bacteria including Staphylococcus, Streptococcus and Moraxella in their airways – all of which are associated with disease.

早期出現(xiàn)哮喘癥狀的兒童更有可能在呼吸道感染包括葡萄球菌、鏈球菌和莫拉克菌在內的細菌，而這些細菌都與疾病有關。

During periods of good health and controlled asthma, the more benign bacteria Corynebacterium and Dolosigranulum tended to dominate the microbiome. The switch from these bacteria to Moraxella was linked to the highest risk of worsening asthma symptoms in the kids, compared with any other kind of switch.

在健康狀況良好和哮喘得到控制的時期，較良性的棒狀桿菌和多洛西小顆粒菌群往往占主導地位。與其他類型的細菌切換相比，從這些細菌切換到莫拉菌與兒童哮喘癥狀惡化風險最高有關。

It's too early to say exactly what's behind this correlation – there might be some other hidden factor causing both worsening asthma and a bacterial shift that we don't know about – but it gives researchers plenty of scope for future studies.

現(xiàn)在說這種相關性背后的確切原因還為時過早——可能還有其他一些我們不知道的隱藏因素導致哮喘惡化和細菌轉移——但它為研究人員提供了大量的未來研究空間。

If a definite causal link can be established, managing lung microbiomes could be one way of keeping asthma under control. Many previous studies have established the large role that microbes play in our health and well-being, and It's not the first time scientists have looked at their association with asthma, either.

如果能建立明確的因果關系，管理肺微生物群可能是控制哮喘的一種方法。許多先前的研究已經(jīng)證實微生物在我們的健康和幸福中扮演著重要的角色，這也不是科學家第一次研究它們與哮喘的關系。

With more than six million children under the age of 18 having asthma in the US – about 1 in 12 – more effective treatments could affect a lot of lives. It could affect learning too, with asthma the number one reason for missed school days in the States.

在美國，超過600萬18歲以下的兒童患有哮喘——約占12分之一——更有效的治療可能會影響很多人的生活。它也會影響學習，哮喘是美國缺課的首要原因。

Though our study can't prove causation, it raises intriguing questions that we plan to pursue, says pediatrician Avraham Beigelman, from Washington University.

華盛頓大學的兒科醫(yī)生Avraham Beigelman說:“雖然我們的研究不能證明因果關系，但它提出了一些有趣的問題，我們打算繼續(xù)研究。”

If we somehow supplement such patients with what appear to be good bacteria, will they do better?

“如果我們以某種方式給這些病人補充一些看似有益的細菌，他們的情況會更好嗎?”

The research has been published in Nature Communications.

這項研究發(fā)表在《自然通訊》雜志上。