Unveiling the role of the upper respiratory tract microbiome in susceptibility and severity to COVID-19
It is argued that commensal bacteria in the upper respiratory tract (URT) protect against pathogen colonization and infection, including respiratory viruses. Given that the microbiome can mediate immune modulation, a link between the URT microbiome (URTM) and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity is...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1531084/full |
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| author | Otávio von Ameln Lovison Otávio von Ameln Lovison Otávio von Ameln Lovison Fabiana Caroline Zempulski Volpato Lorenzo Gómez Weber Lorenzo Gómez Weber Afonso Luis Barth Adriana Simon Coitinho Andreza Francisco Martins Andreza Francisco Martins Andreza Francisco Martins |
| author_facet | Otávio von Ameln Lovison Otávio von Ameln Lovison Otávio von Ameln Lovison Fabiana Caroline Zempulski Volpato Lorenzo Gómez Weber Lorenzo Gómez Weber Afonso Luis Barth Adriana Simon Coitinho Andreza Francisco Martins Andreza Francisco Martins Andreza Francisco Martins |
| author_sort | Otávio von Ameln Lovison |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It is argued that commensal bacteria in the upper respiratory tract (URT) protect against pathogen colonization and infection, including respiratory viruses. Given that the microbiome can mediate immune modulation, a link between the URT microbiome (URTM) and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity is expected. This 16S metagenomics cross-sectional study assessed URTM composition, metabolic prediction, and association with laboratory biomarkers in non-COVID-19 pneumonia (NO-CoV), moderate (M-CoV), severe (S-CoV) COVID-19 patients, as well as COVID-19-negative, asymptomatic (NC) patients. The S-CoV group exhibited reduced URTM diversity, primarily due to a decreased abundance of eubiotic taxa. Some of these taxa (e.g., Haemophilus sp., Neisseria sp.) were also associated with inflammatory biomarkers. Multiple metabolic pathways (e.g., short-chain fatty acids, vitamin B12) linked to immune response, antiviral activity, and host susceptibility showed decreased abundance in S-CoV. These pathways could suggest potential alternatives for the therapeutic arsenal against COVID-19, providing reassurance about the progress in understanding and treating this disease. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-049e8a04ffd64f09b9e17541d2da81d9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2235-2988 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj-art-049e8a04ffd64f09b9e17541d2da81d92025-08-20T03:52:47ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology2235-29882025-05-011510.3389/fcimb.2025.15310841531084Unveiling the role of the upper respiratory tract microbiome in susceptibility and severity to COVID-19Otávio von Ameln Lovison0Otávio von Ameln Lovison1Otávio von Ameln Lovison2Fabiana Caroline Zempulski Volpato3Lorenzo Gómez Weber4Lorenzo Gómez Weber5Afonso Luis Barth6Adriana Simon Coitinho7Andreza Francisco Martins8Andreza Francisco Martins9Andreza Francisco Martins10Laboratório de Pesquisa em Resistência Bacteriana (LABRESIS), Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Centro de Pesquisa Experimental, Porto Alegre, BrazilLaboratório de Microbiologia e Saúde Única do Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde (ICBS) da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, BrazilNúcleo de Bioinformática (Bioinformatics Core), Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, BrazilLaboratório de Pesquisa em Resistência Bacteriana (LABRESIS), Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Centro de Pesquisa Experimental, Porto Alegre, BrazilLaboratório de Microbiologia e Saúde Única do Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde (ICBS) da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, BrazilNúcleo de Bioinformática (Bioinformatics Core), Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, BrazilLaboratório de Pesquisa em Resistência Bacteriana (LABRESIS), Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Centro de Pesquisa Experimental, Porto Alegre, BrazilLaboratório de Neuroimunologia do Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde (ICBS) da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, BrazilLaboratório de Pesquisa em Resistência Bacteriana (LABRESIS), Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Centro de Pesquisa Experimental, Porto Alegre, BrazilLaboratório de Microbiologia e Saúde Única do Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde (ICBS) da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, BrazilNúcleo de Bioinformática (Bioinformatics Core), Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, BrazilIt is argued that commensal bacteria in the upper respiratory tract (URT) protect against pathogen colonization and infection, including respiratory viruses. Given that the microbiome can mediate immune modulation, a link between the URT microbiome (URTM) and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity is expected. This 16S metagenomics cross-sectional study assessed URTM composition, metabolic prediction, and association with laboratory biomarkers in non-COVID-19 pneumonia (NO-CoV), moderate (M-CoV), severe (S-CoV) COVID-19 patients, as well as COVID-19-negative, asymptomatic (NC) patients. The S-CoV group exhibited reduced URTM diversity, primarily due to a decreased abundance of eubiotic taxa. Some of these taxa (e.g., Haemophilus sp., Neisseria sp.) were also associated with inflammatory biomarkers. Multiple metabolic pathways (e.g., short-chain fatty acids, vitamin B12) linked to immune response, antiviral activity, and host susceptibility showed decreased abundance in S-CoV. These pathways could suggest potential alternatives for the therapeutic arsenal against COVID-19, providing reassurance about the progress in understanding and treating this disease.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1531084/fullSARS-CoV-2COVID-19microbiomeupper respiratory tractimmune modulation |
| spellingShingle | Otávio von Ameln Lovison Otávio von Ameln Lovison Otávio von Ameln Lovison Fabiana Caroline Zempulski Volpato Lorenzo Gómez Weber Lorenzo Gómez Weber Afonso Luis Barth Adriana Simon Coitinho Andreza Francisco Martins Andreza Francisco Martins Andreza Francisco Martins Unveiling the role of the upper respiratory tract microbiome in susceptibility and severity to COVID-19 Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 microbiome upper respiratory tract immune modulation |
| title | Unveiling the role of the upper respiratory tract microbiome in susceptibility and severity to COVID-19 |
| title_full | Unveiling the role of the upper respiratory tract microbiome in susceptibility and severity to COVID-19 |
| title_fullStr | Unveiling the role of the upper respiratory tract microbiome in susceptibility and severity to COVID-19 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unveiling the role of the upper respiratory tract microbiome in susceptibility and severity to COVID-19 |
| title_short | Unveiling the role of the upper respiratory tract microbiome in susceptibility and severity to COVID-19 |
| title_sort | unveiling the role of the upper respiratory tract microbiome in susceptibility and severity to covid 19 |
| topic | SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 microbiome upper respiratory tract immune modulation |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1531084/full |
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