The palatine tonsil bacteriome, but not the mycobiome, is altered in HIV infection

Yuto Fukui,Yoshikazu Ishii,Kazuhiro Tateda,Kotaro Aoki

doi:10.1186/s12866-018-1274-9

Abstract

BackgroundMicrobial flora in several organs of HIV-infected individuals have been characterized; however, the palatine tonsil bacteriome and mycobiome and their relationship with each other remain unclear. Determining the palatine tonsil microbiome may provide a better understanding of the pathogenesis of oral and systemic complications in HIV-infected individuals. We conducted a cross-sectional study to characterize the palatine tonsil microbiome in HIV-infected individuals.ResultsPalatine tonsillar swabs were collected from 46 HIV-infected and 20 HIV-uninfected individuals. The bacteriome and mycobiome were analyzed by amplicon sequencing using Illumina MiSeq. The palatine tonsil bacteriome of the HIV-infected individuals differed from that of HIV-uninfected individuals in terms of the decreased relative abundances of the commensal genera Neisseria and Haemophilus. At the species level, the relative abundances and presence of Capnocytophaga ochracea, Neisseria cinerea, and Selenomonas noxia were higher in the HIV-infected group than those in the HIV-uninfected group. In contrast, fungal diversity and composition did not differ significantly between the two groups. Microbial intercorrelation analysis revealed that Candida and Neisseria were negatively correlated with each other in the HIV-infected group. HIV immune status did not influence the palatine tonsil microbiome in the HIV-infected individuals.ConclusionsHIV-infected individuals exhibit dysbiotic changes in their palatine tonsil bacteriome, independent of immunological status.

Highlights

Microbial flora in several organs of Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals have been characterized; the palatine tonsil bacteriome and mycobiome and their relationship with each other remain unclear
Fungi are important in the human microbiome [22]; more research is needed on the mycobiome and its relationships with the bacteriome
Sex, smoking status, or white blood cell (WBC) count were noted between the groups (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Microbial flora in several organs of HIV-infected individuals have been characterized; the palatine tonsil bacteriome and mycobiome and their relationship with each other remain unclear. Determining the palatine tonsil microbiome may provide a better understanding of the pathogenesis of oral and systemic complications in HIV-infected individuals. We conducted a cross-sectional study to characterize the palatine tonsil microbiome in HIV-infected individuals. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has increased the life expectancy of HIV-infected individuals, accompanied by improved cellular immunity and reduced frequency of diseases associated with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) [2, 3]. The microbiome (the collective genomes of microbial flora) of HIV-infected individuals is gradually being elucidated [6, 7], as human microbiome research progresses [8]. Fungi are important in the human microbiome [22]; more research is needed on the mycobiome and its relationships with the bacteriome

Methods

Results

Conclusion