Nature Communications (Oct 2021)

Clinical practices underlie COVID-19 patient respiratory microbiome composition and its interactions with the host

  • Verónica Lloréns-Rico,
  • Ann C. Gregory,
  • Johan Van Weyenbergh,
  • Sander Jansen,
  • Tina Van Buyten,
  • Junbin Qian,
  • Marcos Braz,
  • Soraya Maria Menezes,
  • Pierre Van Mol,
  • Lore Vanderbeke,
  • Christophe Dooms,
  • Jan Gunst,
  • Greet Hermans,
  • Philippe Meersseman,
  • CONTAGIOUS collaborators,
  • Els Wauters,
  • Johan Neyts,
  • Diether Lambrechts,
  • Joost Wauters,
  • Jeroen Raes

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26500-8
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

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Here, the authors profile the respiratory microbiome of COVID-19 patients and link clinical practices, such as mechanical ventilation, with vast changes in the microbiota. In the lungs, oral bacteria are found physically associated with proinflammatory immune cells, thus possibly contributing to exacerbated immune responses in severe disease