Both diseased and healthy lungs contain genes that confer antibiotic resistance
Genes that render bacteria resistant to antibiotics are found not only in individuals with lung disease, but also in those with healthy lungs. This is demonstrated by a new study from the University of Bergen.
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Researchers investigated patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and pulmonary sarcoidosis, and compared them with individuals with healthy lungs. The results, now published in BMJ Open Respiratory Research, show that genes conferring antibiotic resistance were present in all groups.
In the study, gene sequencing was used to analyze bronchoscopy samples. This method enables detailed mapping of microbial communities and provides insight into the genetic characteristics of the microbes, including antibiotic resistance.
Very few studies have previously examined the prevalence of resistance genes in the lower airways.
Surprising findings
鈥淲hat was surprising was that we detected resistance genes in as many as 35 percent of the healthy participants,鈥 says first author of the study, Guri Kringeland. Patients with pulmonary fibrosis and the inflammatory disease sarcoidosis showed a markedly increased prevalence of resistance genes.
鈥淲e also observed that individuals who had recently used antibiotics had a higher abundance of resistance genes. This is consistent with existing knowledge that antibiotic use is an important driver of antimicrobial resistance,鈥 Kringeland explains.
鈥淲hat surprised us the most was the high prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes among patients with sarcoidosis,鈥 she adds.
This patient group stood out as being younger, healthier, and having used antibiotics to a much lesser extent than the other groups. The findings suggest that additional mechanisms may contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance in these patients.
A global health challenge
Antibiotic resistance is rapidly becoming one of the greatest global health challenges of our time. The development of new antibiotics alone does not appear sufficient to resolve the situation. Understanding resistance dynamics is essential for improving the use of existing antibiotics and may represent a small step toward the development of new classes of antimicrobial agents.
Click the link below to read the full article in BMJ Open Respiratory Research: