Differences in the effects of Bordetella pertussis and respiratory syncytial virus infection on the composition of nasopharyngeal flora in neonates

Yijun Ding; Qing Wang; Dongfang Li; Yue Li; Kaihu Yao; Tianyou Wang

doi:10.3389/fped.2023.1034147

Differences in the effects of Bordetella pertussis and respiratory syncytial virus infection on the composition of nasopharyngeal flora in neonates

Front Pediatr. 2023 Jun 7:11:1034147. doi: 10.3389/fped.2023.1034147. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yijun Ding¹, Qing Wang², Dongfang Li³, Yue Li², Kaihu Yao², Tianyou Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neonatology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, China.
² Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, China.
³ R&D Department, BGI PathoGenesis Pharmaceutical Technology, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China.
⁴ Department of Hematology and Oncology, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Bordetella pertussis and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are important pathogens causing cough in neonates. Few studies have investigated the differences in the effects of these two specific infections on respiratory flora. The aim of this study was to explore whether infections with Bordetella pertussis and RSV have different effects on respiratory floral composition in neonates.

Methods: Nasopharyngeal respiratory flora was assessed by 16S ribosomal RNA amplification and V3-V4 region sequencing. Shannon and Simpson indices were calculated to determine the α diversity and principal coordinate analysis was performed to determine the β diversity.

Results: In total, 111 hospitalized neonates were divided into the pertussis (n = 29), RSV (n = 57), and control groups (n = 25) according to the pathogens detected. The relative abundance of Bordetella was significantly higher in the pertussis group (median: 19.18%, interquartile range: 72.57%). In contrast, this species was not detected in the other two groups. In the RSV group, the relative abundance of Streptococcus (median: 77.15%, interquartile range: 45.84%) was significantly higher than those in the pertussis and control groups (both P < 0.001). The α diversity of the RSV group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P < 0.001). Moreover, no statistically significant differences in the Shannon and Simpson indices were observed between the pertussis and control groups (P = 0.101 and P = 0.202, respectively). Principal coordinate analysis revealed a large overlap between the pertussis and control groups and a significant distance between the RSV and control groups without any overlap.

Discussion: Thus, the effects of infections with the two species, B. pertussis and RSV, impacted the diversity of nasopharyngeal flora differently. The principles underlying the difference in the effects of different pathogens on microbial flora require further investigation.

Keywords: bordetella pertussis; diversity; infection; nasopharynx; neonate; respiratory flora; respiratory syncytial virus.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Major Scientific and Technological Special Project for “Significant New Drugs Development” [grant number: 2017ZX09304029] and Beijing Hospitals Authority Youth Programme [grant number: QML 20181207].