Circulating microbial cell-free DNA is associated with inflammatory host-responses in severe pneumonia.
Haopu YangGhady HaidarNameer S Al-YousifHaris ZiaDaniel KotokAsim A AhmedLily BlairSudeb DalaiSivan BercoviciCarine HoBryan J McVerryAlison MorrisGeorgios D KitsiosPublished in: Thorax (2021)
Host inflammatory responses predict worse outcome in severe pneumonia, yet little is known about what drives dysregulated inflammation. We performed metagenomic sequencing of microbial cell-free DNA (mcfDNA) in 83 mechanically ventilated patients (26 culture-positive, 41 culture-negative pneumonia, 16 uninfected controls). Culture-positive patients had higher levels of mcfDNA than those with culture-negative pneumonia and uninfected controls (p<0.005). Plasma levels of inflammatory biomarkers (fractalkine, procalcitonin, pentraxin-3 and suppression of tumorigenicity-2) were independently associated with mcfDNA levels (adjusted p<0.05) among all patients with pneumonia. Such host-microbe interactions in the systemic circulation of patients with severe pneumonia warrant further large-scale clinical and mechanistic investigations.
Keyphrases
- end stage renal disease
- ejection fraction
- chronic kidney disease
- oxidative stress
- newly diagnosed
- microbial community
- hiv infected
- peritoneal dialysis
- respiratory failure
- prognostic factors
- early onset
- intensive care unit
- patient reported outcomes
- acute respiratory distress syndrome
- wastewater treatment
- antiretroviral therapy