The human body is host to several distinct microbial communities. Disruption of these communities increases susceptibility to a wide range of diseases, including respiratory tract infections. While commensal bacteria in the gut contribute to this effect, recent studies point to a role for commensals occupying the upper respiratory tract through direct pathogen killing and by modifying nasal and lung immune homeostasis. Clinical trials exploring 'probiotic' respiratory tract commensals are an exciting development in this area. Upper respiratory tract microbiome sequencing has revealed that destabilization of this community precedes infection, indicating that microbiome profiling of individuals has predictive value. Further investigation of respiratory tract commensal-host interactions will be critical to translate bacterial-mediated protection toward new therapeutic approaches for respiratory tract disease.

中文翻译：

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上呼吸道的共生细菌调节感染的易感性。


人体是几个不同的微生物群落的宿主。这些社区的破坏增加了对多种疾病的易感性，包括呼吸道感染。虽然肠道中的共生菌有助于这种作用，但最近的研究指出，占据上呼吸道的共生菌通过直接杀死病原体和改变鼻和肺的免疫稳态来发挥作用。探索“益生菌”呼吸道共生体的临床试验是该领域令人兴奋的进展。上呼吸道微生物组测序表明，该群落在感染之前就会不稳定，这表明个体的微生物组分析具有预测价值。进一步研究呼吸道共生-宿主相互作用对于将细菌介导的保护转化为呼吸道疾病的新治疗方法至关重要。