Sex effects in the association between airway microbiome and asthma

Study information

Reviewed Marked as Reviewed by Claregrieve1 on 2022/08/31

study design

case-control

Citation

PMID PubMed identifier for scientific articles.

32931909

DOI Digital object identifier for electronic documents.

10.1016/j.anai.2020.09.007

URI

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8043253/

Authors

Chen R, Wang L, Koch T, Curtis V, Yin-DeClue H, Handley SA, Shan L, Holtzman MJ, Castro M, Wang L

Journal

Annals of allergy, asthma & immunology : official publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology

Year

2020

BACKGROUND: Sex differences exist in asthma susceptibility and severity. Accumulating evidence has linked airway microbiome dysbiosis to asthma, and airway microbial communities have been found to differ by sex. However, whether sex modifies the link between airway microbiome and asthma has not been investigated. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate sex effects in the association between airway microbiome and asthma. METHODS: We analyzed induced sputum samples from 47 subjects (n = 23 patients with asthma and n = 24 normal controls) using 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing methods. The bacterial composition was analyzed for sex differences. Bacterial associations with asthma were assessed for each sex at the core taxa and genus levels. RESULTS: The microbiome in induced sputum differed in women vs men at the community level. A total of 5 core bacterial taxa were found in all samples. No sex-specific core taxa were detected. The most abundant core taxon, Streptococcus salivarius, was significantly enriched in women than in men (P = .02). Within each sex, individuals with relatively lower abundance of S salivarius were more likely to have asthma (P = .006). For both sexes, increased Lactobacillus species were found in sputum samples of patients with patients compared with normal controls (adjusted P = .01). Haemophilus species were associated with asthma in men and not in women. CONCLUSION: The airway microbiome differed by sex, and sex effects exist in the association of airway microbial markers and asthma. Future airway microbiome studies may yield better resolution if the context of specific sex is considered. The airway microbiome is a potential mechanism driving sex differences in asthma.

Experiment 2

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Reviewed Marked as Reviewed by Claregrieve1 on 2022/08/31

Curated date: 2022/08/31

Curator: Claregrieve1

Revision editor(s): Claregrieve1, WikiWorks, Victoria

Differences from previous experiment shown

Subjects

Location of subjects: United States of America

Host species Species from which microbiome was sampled. Contact us to have more species added.: Homo sapiens

Body site Anatomical site where microbial samples were extracted from according to the Uber Anatomy Ontology: SputumSputum

Condition The experimental condition / phenotype studied according to the Experimental Factor Ontology: asthmaasthma

Group 0 name Corresponds to the control (unexposed) group for case-control studies: Female normal controls

Group 1 name Corresponds to the case (exposed) group for case-control studies: Female participants with asthma

Group 1 definition Diagnostic criteria applied to define the specific condition / phenotype represented in the case (exposed) group: Females participants with asthma

Group 0 sample size Number of subjects in the control (unexposed) group: 17

Group 1 sample size Number of subjects in the case (exposed) group: 15

Antibiotics exclusion Number of days without antibiotics usage (if applicable) and other antibiotics-related criteria used to exclude participants (if any): 1 month

Lab analysis

Sequencing type: 16S

16S variable region One or more hypervariable region(s) of the bacterial 16S gene: V1-V2

Sequencing platform Manufacturer and experimental platform used for quantifying microbial abundance: Illumina

Statistical Analysis

Data transformation Data transformation applied to microbial abundance measurements prior to differential abundance testing (if any).: relative abundances

Statistical test: Mann-Whitney (Wilcoxon)

Significance threshold p-value or FDR threshold used for differential abundance testing (if any): 0.05

MHT correction Have statistical tests be corrected for multiple hypothesis testing (MHT)?: Yes

Alpha Diversity

Shannon Estimator of species richness and species evenness: more weight on species richness: unchanged

Signature 1

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Reviewed Marked as Reviewed by Lwaldron on 2022/10/20

Curated date: 2022/08/31

Curator: Claregrieve1

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Source: Figure 2b

Description: Differential microbial abundance between female participants with asthma and female normal controls

Abundance in Group 1: decreased abundance in Female participants with asthma

NCBI	Quality Control	Links
Streptococcus salivarius

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Reviewed Marked as Reviewed by Claregrieve1 on 2022/08/31

Curated date: 2022/08/31

Curator: Claregrieve1

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Source: Figure 3b

Description: Differential microbial abundance between female participants with asthma and female normal controls

Abundance in Group 1: increased abundance in Female participants with asthma

NCBI	Quality Control	Links
Lactobacillus

Revision editor(s): Claregrieve1, WikiWorks