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Asthma Microbiome Studies and the Potential for New Therapeutic Strategies

  • ASTHMA (WJ CALHOUN AND SP PETERS, SECTION EDITORS)
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Abstract

Recent applications of culture-independent tools for microbiome profiling have revealed significant relationships between asthma and microbiota associated with the environment, gut, or airways. Studies of the airway microbiome in particular represent a new frontier in pulmonary research. Although these studies are relatively new, current evidence suggests the possibility of new therapeutic strategies for the treatment or prevention of asthma. In this article, recent literature on microbiota and asthma are critically reviewed, with a particular focus on studies of the airway microbiome. Perspectives are presented on how growing knowledge of relationships between the microbiome and asthma is likely to translate into improved understanding of asthma pathogenesis, its heterogeneity, and opportunities for novel treatment approaches.

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Acknowledgments

Yvonne J. Huang has received grant support from the National Institutes of Health.

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Conflict of Interest

Yvonne J. Huang has received grant support from Genentech.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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  1. Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy, and Sleep Medicine, University of California San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Avenue, Box 0130, San Francisco, CA, 94143-0130, USA

    Yvonne J. Huang

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Correspondence to Yvonne J. Huang.

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Huang, Y.J. Asthma Microbiome Studies and the Potential for New Therapeutic Strategies. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 13, 453–461 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-013-0355-y

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