Sputum Bacterial and Fungal Dynamics during Exacerbations of Severe COPD

PLoS One. 2015 Jul 6;10(7):e0130736. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130736. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

The changes in the microbial community structure during acute exacerbations of severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in hospitalized patients remain largely uncharacterized. Therefore, further studies focused on the temporal dynamics and structure of sputum microbial communities during acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) would still be necessary. In our study, the use of molecular microbiological techniques provided insight into both fungal and bacterial diversities in AECOPD patients during hospitalization. In particular, we examined the structure and varieties of lung microbial community in 6 patients with severe AECOPD by amplifying 16S rRNA V4 hyper-variable and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) DNA regions using barcoded primers and the Illumina sequencing platform. Sequence analysis showed 261 bacterial genera representing 20 distinct phyla, with an average number of genera per patient of >157, indicating high diversity. Acinetobacter, Prevotella, Neisseria, Rothia, Lactobacillus, Leptotrichia, Streptococcus, Veillonella, and Actinomyces were the most commonly identified genera, and the average total sequencing number per sputum sample was >10000 18S ITS sequences. The fungal population was typically dominated by Candia, Phialosimplex, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium and Eutypella. Our findings highlight that COPD patients have personalized structures and varieties in sputum microbial community during hospitalization periods.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacteria / classification
  • Bacteria / isolation & purification*
  • Episode of Care
  • Fungi / classification
  • Fungi / isolation & purification*
  • Humans
  • Phylogeny
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / microbiology*
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / physiopathology
  • Species Specificity
  • Sputum / microbiology*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC 31270152, 31322003) (http://www.nsfc.gov.cn/), who provided support for the lab materials; the Educational Commission of Guangdong Province of China (2012KJCX0031), (http://www.gdhed.edu.cn/), who provided support for the Illumina sequencing; and a grant from School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine of Southern Medical University, China (grant no. GW201435, GW201431) (http://portal.smu.edu.cn/gwxy/), who provided support for the AJE costs.