你的呼吸道有一个微生物群，它甚至可能与哮喘有关

你的呼吸道有一个微生物群，它甚至可能与哮喘有关

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.

众所周知，我们的肠道是我们现在称为微生物群落的整个群落的宿主。但是，尽管我们的物种被微生物所充斥，我们身体的其他部位也有微生物群落——包括肺。现在，科学家们发现了呼吸道微生物与儿童哮喘严重程度之间的联系。

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.

这项研究还不足以证明不同的细菌组合是导致哮喘恶化或好转的原因，但它确实表明了某种相关性——这可能最终有助于医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.

我们收集了214名5 - 11岁的儿童的鼻腔粘液样本，这些儿童都患有轻度至中度哮喘，其中有一次他们的哮喘得到了很好的控制，还有一次是在哮喘刚开始发作的时候。上呼吸道的微生物群落在这两点上看起来很不一样。

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.

来自康涅狄格大学的微生物学家周燕姣(音译)说:“我们的数据显示，从呼吸道健康过渡到疾病的儿童呼吸道微生物组发生了快速变化。”

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，发现微生物组的变化模式可能在哮喘加重中发挥重要作用。我们正在计划未来的研究来探索这种可能性。”

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.

早期出现哮喘症状的儿童更有可能在呼吸道感染包括葡萄球菌、链球菌和莫拉克菌在内的细菌，而这些细菌都与疾病有关。

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.

在健康状况良好和哮喘得到控制的时期，较良性的棒状杆菌和多洛西小颗粒菌群往往占主导地位。与其他类型的细菌切换相比，从这些细菌切换到莫拉菌与儿童哮喘症状恶化风险最高有关。

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.

现在说这种相关性背后的确切原因还为时过早——可能还有其他一些我们不知道的隐藏因素导致哮喘恶化和细菌转移——但它为研究人员提供了大量的未来研究空间。

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.

如果能建立明确的因果关系，管理肺微生物群可能是控制哮喘的一种方法。许多先前的研究已经证实微生物在我们的健康和幸福中扮演着重要的角色，这也不是科学家第一次研究它们与哮喘的关系。

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.

在美国，超过600万18岁以下的儿童患有哮喘——约占12分之一——更有效的治疗可能会影响很多人的生活。它也会影响学习，哮喘是美国缺课的首要原因。

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

华盛顿大学的儿科医生Avraham Beigelman说:“虽然我们的研究不能证明因果关系，但它提出了一些有趣的问题，我们打算继续研究。”

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

“如果我们以某种方式给这些病人补充一些看似有益的细菌，他们的情况会更好吗?”

The research has been published in Nature Communications.

这项研究发表在《自然通讯》杂志上。