ArticleRespiratory research2020
The sputum microbiome is distinct between COPD and health, independent of smoking history.
Article in Respiratory research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04849104 (Cohort Study of Airway Microecology and the Pathogenesis and Evolution of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), which is not on this map. Cited by 63 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Cohort Study of Airway Microecology and the Pathogenesis and Evolution of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Who cites it
63 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 107 citations in OpenAlex.
- Global research trends and thematic evolution of respiratory microbiota in COPD: a bibliometric study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Respiratory and Gut Microbiome Modification during Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection: A Systematic Review.Viruses · 2024Pooled it
- The alterations of oral, airway and intestine microbiota in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Pooled it
- Peripheral blood microbial signatures in current and former smokers.Scientific reports · 2021Pooled it
- Dynamic balance of the lung microbiome in health and respiratory diseases.Chinese medical journal · 2026Review
- The Effects of Smoking on Respiratory Microbiota Diversity and Composition: A Systematic Review with Exploratory Meta-Analysis.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- Role of oral bacteria composition and functional gene profiles in respiratory diseases.BMJ open respiratory research · 2026Article
- Comparative analysis of the sputum microbiota in different COPD clinical states.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Bacterial taxa associated with lung cancer cases in Southeast Asians: a pilot case-control study.Cellular oncology (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2026Article
- Crosstalk between the microbiome and the mucosal immunoglobulin A system in the lung, in health and disease.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
- Why the COPD Microbiome Matters: How Airway Microbes Shape Disease Severity and Treatment Response.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2026Review
- Molecular insights into lower respiratory tract microbiota reveal disease-specific biomarkers and shared microbial networks in asthma and COPD.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
- Epigenomic study of the lower airway reveals COPD-associated methylation patterns and potential microbiota links.BMJ open respiratory research · 2025Article
- 16S rRNA sequencing-based analysis of sputum microbiome in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: retrospective cohort study.Journal of thoracic disease · 2025Article
- Association of MiR-29b/BRD4 with Airway Dysbiosis in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease after Smoking Cessation.Current medical science · 2025Article
- Lower Respiratory Tract Microbiome Signatures of Health and Lung Cancer Across Different Smoking Statuses.Cancers · 2025Article
- Therapeutic and prophylactic effects of Qipian on COPD in mice: the role of lung and gut microbiota.Microbiology spectrum · 2025Article
- β-Glucan reprograms alveolar macrophages via neutrophil/IFNγ axis in a murine model of lung injury.eLife · 2025Article
- Association between oral microbiome diversity and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the US population.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Article
3 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
19 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAirway bacterial dysbiosis is a feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, there is limited comparative data of the lung microbiome between healthy smokers, non-smokers and COPD.
methodsWe compared the 16S rRNA gene-based sputum microbiome generated from pair-ended Illumina sequencing of 124 healthy subjects (28 smokers and 96 non-smokers with normal lung function), with single stable samples from 218 COPD subjects collected from three UK clinical centres as part of the COPDMAP consortium.
resultsIn healthy subjects Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria were the major phyla constituting 88% of the total reads, and Streptococcus, Veillonella, Prevotella, Actinomyces and Rothia were the dominant genera. Haemophilus formed only 3% of the healthy microbiome. In contrast, Proteobacteria was the most dominant phylum accounting for 50% of the microbiome in COPD subjects, with Haemophilus and Moraxella at genus level contributing 25 and 3% respectively. There were no differences in the microbiome profile within healthy and COPD subgroups when stratified based on smoking history. Principal coordinate analysis on operational taxonomic units showed two distinct clusters, representative of healthy and COPD subjects (PERMANOVA, p = 0·001).
conclusionThe healthy and COPD sputum microbiomes are distinct and independent of smoking history. Our results underline the important role for Gammaproteobacteria in COPD.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.