Microbiota composition and disease severity in bronchiectasis

The microbes present in the lower airways are strongly implicated in the development, progression, and severity of many types of chronic lung disease. Complex and bidirectional relationships exist between the airway environment, the composition of the lung microbiota, and rate and nature of accumulated damage. Understanding these interactions, and their implications for bronchiectasis, is challenging. The development of local immune regulation in early life, and the effects of host mutations, such as those affecting mucin properties, both influence airway microbiology. As disease develops, there is a divergence…