Air pollution during the winter period and respiratory tract microbial imbalance in a healthy young population in Northeastern ChinaOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWhat was studied?
Researchers examined the throat microbiota of 114 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 21 in Northeast China during winter heating season. Participants were grouped by regional air pollution level: 35 in a lightly polluted area, 40 in a moderately polluted area, and 39 in a heavily polluted area.
How was it studied?
Microbial DNA from throat swabs was sequenced by amplifying the V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene to profile oral flora. Lung function tests were also performed on all volunteers.
What did they find?
Bacteroidetes and Fusobacteria were lower, while Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria were higher in participants from more polluted regions. In the most polluted group, Prevotellaceae, Veillonellaceae, Porphyromonadaceae, and Fusobacteriaceae were depleted while Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae were enriched. Pulmonary function correlated with air pollution level and differed alongside these microbial shifts.
Why it matters
The findings suggest winter air pollution disrupts the oropharyngeal microbiota in young, otherwise healthy people. This imbalance appears linked to impaired lung function, pointing to the airway microbiome as a possible mechanism in pollution-related respiratory harm.