Detailed Characterization of the Lung-Gut Microbiome Axis Reveals the Link between PD-L1 and the Microbiome in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2024-02, Vol.25 (4), p.2323
• Main Authors: Ankudavicius, Vytautas, Nikitina, Darja, Lukosevicius, Rokas, Tilinde, Deimante, Salteniene, Violeta, Poskiene, Lina, Miliauskas, Skaidrius, Skieceviciene, Jurgita, Zemaitis, Marius, Kupcinskas, Juozas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; B7-H1 Antigen - analysis; B7-H1 Antigen - genetics; Bacteria; Biopsy; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - microbiology; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - pathology; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Digestive system; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Immunotherapy; Lung - microbiology; Lung - pathology; Lung cancer; Lung cancer, Non-small cell; Lung Neoplasms - microbiology; Microbiota; Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms); Oncology, Experimental; Patients; Proteins; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Taxonomy; Tumors
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms25042323

Next-generation sequencing technologies have started a new era of respiratory tract research in recent years. Alterations in the respiratory microbiome between healthy and malignant conditions have been revealed. However, the composition of the microbiome varies among studies, even in similar medical conditions. Also, there is a lack of complete knowledge about lung-gut microbiome interactions in lung cancer patients. The aim of this study was to explore the lung-gut axis in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and the associations between lung-gut axis microbiota and clinical parameters (CRP, NLR, LPS, CD8, and PD-L1). Lung tissue and fecal samples were used for bacterial 16S rRNA sequencing. The results revealed, for the first time, that the bacterial richness in lung tumor tissue gradually decreased with an increase in the level of PD-L1 expression ( < 0.05). An analysis of β-diversity indicated a significant positive correlation between the genera Romboutsia and Alistipes in both the lung tumor biopsies and stool samples from NSCLC patients ( < 0.05). Survival analysis showed that NSCLC patients with higher bacterial richness in their stool samples had prolonged overall survival (HR: 2.06, 95% CI: 1.025-4.17, = 0.0426).