How do airway microbes influence allergic disease?
Select figures from Jaeger et al., Cell Host Microbe, 2020
A) Schematic of allergic airway inflammation mouse model using ovalbumin. B) Flow cytometry showing increased Th17 cells from lungs of Bph colonized mice. C) Methacholine dosing revealed improved respiratory function in Bph colonized mice. D) SLPI and Haemophilus are positively correlated in human nasal lavage samples.
Bordetella pseudohinzii (Bph), a mouse airway commensal, colonizes mouse upper and lower airway long-term and protects against severe allergic airway inflammation in an ovalbumin model.
Colonization with this strain leads to increased levels of host antimicrobial peptide, secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI), in the lungs as well.
The airway microbiota of individuals with asthma is enriched for certain microbes, including Haemophilus. We also found SLPI to be positively correlated with Haemophilus in the upper airway.
To follow up on our finding that Haemophilus colonization is enriched in patients with asthma, we sequenced these clinical isolates. Further characterization is being performed to better understand whether these bacteria are capable of producing compounds that could influence airway inflammation.