Altered respiratory virome and serum cytokine profile associated with recurrent respiratory tract infections in children

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 10; no. 1; pp. 2288 - 12
• Main Authors: Li, Yanpeng, Fu, Xuemin, Ma, Jinmin, Zhang, Jianhui, Hu, Yihong, Dong, Wei, Wan, Zhenzhou, Li, Qiongfang, Kuang, Yi-Qun, Lan, Ke, Jin, Xia, Wang, Jian-Hua, Zhang, Chiyu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 23.05.2019; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 13/21; 45/22; 45/23; 45/88; 49/90; 631/250/127; 631/326/107; 631/326/596/2142; 692/699/255/2514; 82/79; Acute Disease; Bacteriophages - genetics; Bacteriophages - isolation & purification; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Cytokines; Cytokines - blood; Cytokines - immunology; Disease Susceptibility - blood; Disease Susceptibility - immunology; Disease Susceptibility - microbiology; Female; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing - methods; Homeostasis; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Infant; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Metagenomics - methods; Microbiota - genetics; multidisciplinary; Phages; Platelet-derived growth factor; Platelet-derived growth factor BB; Population studies; Propionibacterium; Propionibacterium - virology; Proteomics - methods; Recurrence; Relative abundance; Respiratory System - immunology; Respiratory System - virology; Respiratory tract; Respiratory tract diseases; Respiratory tract infection; Respiratory Tract Infections - blood; Respiratory Tract Infections - immunology; Respiratory Tract Infections - microbiology; Retrospective Studies; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Serum levels; Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10294-x

Recurrent acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) affect a large population, yet the specific decisive factors are largely unknown. Here we study a population of 4407 children diagnosed with ARTI, comparing respiratory virome and serum cytokine profiles associated with multiple ARTIs and single ARTI during a six-year period. The relative abundance of Propionibacterium phages is significantly elevated in multiple ARTIs compared to single ARTI group. Serum levels of TIMP-1 and PDGF-BB are markedly increased in multiple ARTIs compared to single-ARTI and non-ARTI controls, making these two cytokines potential predictors for multiple ARTIs. The presence of Propionibacterium phages is associated with higher levels of TIMP-1 and PDGF-BB. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses show that the combination of TIMP-1, PDGF-BB and Propionibacterium phages could be a strong predictor for multiple ARTIs. These findings indicate that respiratory microbe homeostasis and specific cytokines are associated with the onset of multiple ARTIs over time. Here, the authors determine the respiratory virome and serum cytokine profile in children diagnosed with acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI) and show that relative abundance of Propionibacterium phages as well as serum levels of TIMP-1 and PDGF-BB are increased in multiple ARTIs compared with single ARTI.