Different functional genes of upper airway microbiome associated with natural course of childhood asthma

Background: Microbial colonization of the airway plays a role in the pathogenesis of asthma; however, the effect of the upper airway microbiome on childhood asthma is not fully understood. We analyzed the metagenome of airway microbiome to understand the associated role of upper airway microbiome with the natural course of childhood asthma. Methods: Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from children with asthma, those in asthma remission, and control groups. High-throughput sequencing was used to examine the structure and functional dynamics of the airway microbiome with respect to asthma phenotypes. Results: The composition of microbiota differed among healthy control, asthma, and remission groups. The relative abundance of Streptococcus was negatively associated with FEV _1% predicted (P =.023) and that of Staphylococcus was negatively associated with methacholine PC ₂₀ (P =.013). Genes related to arachidonic acid metabolites, lysine residues, and glycosaminoglycans in the microbiome could be associated with airway inflammation. In particular, genes related to synthesis of anti-inflammatory prostaglandin E ₂ (PGE ₂ ) were not detected from the airway microbiome in the asthma group. Conclusions: These data suggest that alterations in the composition and function of the upper airway microbiome could be related with the natural course of asthma in children.