Abstract
Despite the advent of culture-independent techniques to identify members of the microbiome, studies focusing on the lung microbiome of neonates are scarce. Understanding the role of the microbiome in the pathogenesis of pulmonary conditions affecting newborns could lead to the initiation of pioneering therapeutic interventions, which could potentially prevent lifelong disability. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) has been associated with a less diverse microbiome, presence of Ureaplasma species and reduced Lactobacillus detection. Additionally, the potential role of microbial dysbiosis in the pathogenesis of asthma, cystic fibrosis and pneumonia has been described. There has also been a surge of interest in attempting to elucidate the interactions between the airway and gut microbiomes and their bearings on respiratory health and diseases to eventually broaden the scope of therapeutic interventions.
Keywords: airway, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, lung, microbiome, newborn
Copyright and license
Copyright © 2019 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.