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Review
. 2019 Nov 7;17(1):87.
doi: 10.1186/s12915-019-0703-z.

The microbiome of the upper respiratory tract in health and disease

Christina Kumpitsch  1 , Kaisa Koskinen  1 , Veronika Schöpf  2   3   4 , Christine Moissl-Eichinger  5   6
Affiliations
Review

The microbiome of the upper respiratory tract in health and disease

Christina Kumpitsch et al. BMC Biol. .

Abstract

The human upper respiratory tract (URT) offers a variety of niches for microbial colonization. Local microbial communities are shaped by the different characteristics of the specific location within the URT, but also by the interaction with both external and intrinsic factors, such as ageing, diseases, immune responses, olfactory function, and lifestyle habits such as smoking. We summarize here the current knowledge about the URT microbiome in health and disease, discuss methodological issues, and consider the potential of the nasal microbiome to be used for medical diagnostics and as a target for therapy.

Keywords: Human microbiome; Microbiome; Nasal microbiome; URT; Upper respiratory tract; Upper respiratory tract diseases.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The upper respiratory tract (a) and its paranasal sinuses (b). a URT with different, typical microbiome sampling sites (AN anterior naris, MM middle meatus, OR olfactory area and nasopharynx) and nasal lining, starting with 1 non-keratinized skin-like epithelium in the nostrils followed by different epithelial types, 2 squamous epithelium without microvilli, 3 transitional epithelium with ciliated cells, 4 pseudostratified columnar epithelium with ciliated cells, 5 pseudostratified columnar epithelium with many ciliated cells. b Sinuses of the nasal cavity
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Scanning electron micrograph of nasal mucus of a healthy subject exhibiting various structures (red arrows point at bacterial-like structures, yellow arrows show areas with nasal phlegm)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Nasal microbial composition during infancy and different age groups. a Directly after birth, infants’ URTs are colonized by maternal vaginal and skin bacteria. This initial URT microbiome changes during infant development. b The nasal microbiome is gradually reduced and microbial composition changes at different sampling sites. Bacterial genera given in the figure were found at or between the stated time points of life by molecular methods (16S rRNA sequencing with NGS). For references, see the text and Additional file 1
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Influence of nasal microbial community members on each other. Different Corynebacterium spp. are able to inhibit as well as promote growth of staphylococci and S. pneumoniae in vitro, whereas other species led to increased biofilm formation and reduced virulence. For references, see the text
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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