A prevalent and culturable microbiota links ecological balance to clinical stability of the human lung after transplantation.

ABSTRACT: There is accumulating evidence that the lower airway microbiota impacts lung health. However, the link between microbial community composition and lung homeostasis remains elusive. We combine amplicon sequencing and bacterial culturing to characterize the viable bacterial community in 234 longitudinal bronchoalveolar lavage samples from 64 lung transplant recipients and establish links to viral loads, host gene expression, lung function, and transplant health. We find that the lung microbiota post-transplant can be categorized into four distinct compositional states, 'pneumotypes'. The predominant 'balanced' pneumotype is characterized by a diverse bacterial community with moderate viral loads, and host gene expression profiles suggesting immune tolerance. The other three pneumotypes are c

SUBMITTER: Das S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8035266 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature