The lung microbiome after lung transplantation

Julia Becker, Valeriy Poroyko, Sangeeta Bhorade*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

Lung transplantation survival remains significantly impacted by infections and the development of chronic rejection manifesting as bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS). Traditional microbiologic data has provided insight into the role of infections in BOS. Now, new non-culture-based techniques have been developed to characterize the entire population of microbes resident on the surfaces of the body, also known as the human microbiome. Early studies have identified that lung transplant patients have a different lung microbiome and have demonstrated the important finding that the transplant lung microbiome changes over time. Furthermore, both unique bacterial populations and longitudinal changes in the lung microbiome have now been suggested to play a role in the development of BOS. In the future, this technology will need to be combined with functional assays and assessment of the immune responses in the lung to help further explain the microbiome's role in the failing lung allograft.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)221-231
Number of pages11
JournalExpert Review of Respiratory Medicine
Volume8
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2014

Keywords

  • bacterial infections
  • bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome
  • fungome
  • lung transplant
  • microbiome
  • viral infections
  • virome

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
  • Immunology and Allergy

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