The respiratory system, the microbiome and nutrition – new frontiers

In comparison to the vastly studied intestinal microbiome, studies regarding the lung microbiome are still in an inci­pient stage. The lower respiratory tract has historically been con­si­dered „sterile”, mainly due to the dificulties to grow lung microorganisms în routine microbiological cultures from healthy subjects. This dogma has progresively been con­tes­ted once advanced sequencing techniques were able to detect microbial DNA at a pulmonary level even in the lungs of healthy individuals. An analysis of the possible in­terac­tions between the respiratory tract and the intestinal one through microbiota represents a new frontier in re­search. The generally accepted fact that diet is the main in­flu­en­cing factor of the intestinal microbiome extends the under­stan­ding of the effects of the intestinal microbiota on respiratory health via diet, and offers a promising pers­pec­tive for developing nutritional therapeutic strategies as com­plement to pneumological therapy.