Analysis of the sinusal microbiome of patients with cystic fibrosis

• Grant number: 17/06652-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2018
• End date: February 28, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Richard Louis Voegels
• Grantee: Richard Louis Voegels
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Carla Romano Taddei ; Flávia Gonçalves de Oliveira Maestrali

Abstract

The main cause of mortality in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) is the decline in lung function, related to recurrent respiratory infection. Although sinus involvement is rarely related to disease mortality directly, chronic rhinosinusitis leads to significant morbidity and contributes to the pathophysiology of lung disease. In CF, the nose and paranasal sinuses may represent a reservoir of potential respiratory pathogens and contribute to recurrent or chronic lung infections. Methods such as PCR and microbiome identification have shown the polymicrobial nature of respiratory infections in CF, with the characterization of undetectable infectious agents in conventional culture methods. Sequencing platforms generate a large volume of data about sequences of biomarker genes, allowing for more comprehensive analyzes of the composition and its relative abundance of microorganisms in a given community. Based on the recent expansion of biomarker sequence data, the profile of thousands of organisms can be traced in a single parallel assay. These tools have recently been applied to respiratory samples from patients with CF and many other diseases, drawing attention to the complexity of the microbial communities present in the airways of patients with chronic inflammatory diseases. There is a lack in the literature of studies with evaluation of the airway microbiome of these patients in Brazil. The nasosinusal microbioma of adult cystic fibrosis patients will be evaluated in this study. Patients will be submitted to pulmonary function test, paranasal sinus tomography, nasopharyngoscopy. They will respond to the SNOT 20, NOSE and QFC 14+ quality of life questionnaires. Samples of middle meatus and sputum swab will be collected. The samples will be stored at -80 °C and will be submitted to DNA extraction; PCR amplification and new generation sequencing, for determination of the microbiome. Real-time PCR will also be performed to determine the species involved with greater accuracy. The results obtained will be analyzed and matched with the clinical information of the patients. (AU)