Cell: Bacteria that were previously considered harmless can actually worsen lung disease

A team of international scientists has found that a bacterium that lives in the human body: Neisseria is not as harmless as previously thought, and it can cause infections

In a landmark study, the team showed conclusive evidence that these species cause lung disease and are linked

Bronchiectasis is a long-term disease in which the airways of the lungs are abnormally enlarged for unknown reasons in up to 50% of Singapore patients

Although bronchiectasis is endemic in older people, no obvious cause has been found in most cases, and the condition is often spontaneous without any warning

To unravel the mystery of why bronchiectasis worsens significantly higher among older patients in Asia, researchers and hospitals from Singapore, Malaysia, China, Australia and the United Kingdom formed an international team that matched

Neisseria is not so harmless

Neisseria is known to cause meningitis and gonorrhea, but it is not known that they infect the lungs

Through further experimental cell and animal model studies, the team confirmed that Bacillus flaviflora can cause cell destruction in patients with bronchiectasis, leading to inflammation and immune dysfunction

Prior to this discovery, Neisseria was not thought to be the cause of lung infections or severe illness in bronchiectasis patients

Professor Chotirmall, lead researcher from LDCMedicine, said: "Our findings confirm for the first time that poorer clinical outcomes in patients with bronchiectasis, such as more severe disease, poor lung function and higher rates of recurrent infections, are strongly associated with Neisseria, a finding that is particularly important

"This finding is significant because it could change the way

The study reflects NTU's efforts under NTU2025, the university's five-year strategic plan to address major human challenges such as human health

The broader relevance of Nesseria

In addition to linking Neisseria to severe bronchiectasis, the national university-led research team also found the same bacteria in other, more common chronic respiratory diseases, such as severe asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a condition

Using next-generation sequencing techniques, the team also tried to investigate where the bacteria might have come from and sampled the families of bronchiectasis patients of Neisseria species in their lungs

What is meningitis?

Bacterial species are often thought to be the cause of sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea, but are also thought to be severe meningitis – an inflammation

This family of bacteria has long been considered harmless to humans, and until now, the infections caused by them have not been described

Wang De Yun, co-author of the study and professor of otolaryngology at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore, said: "It is encouraging that we have made progress in identifying Neisseria as the cause of worsening bronchiectasis, an unlikely culprit that was not initially considered a threat

Andrew Tan, associate professor and co-author of metabolic disorders at LKCMedicine, said: "The reverse translation method employed in this work was critical
to our success.
Starting with our study of the "bedside" of patients' real-life experiences, we looked at the biological processes
of bacteria in reverse.
Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the study, the team was able to interact with members from different research disciplines, providing an enjoyable experience while gaining unique insights into
the disease.
”

Researchers are now conducting further research and clinical trials of Neisseria spp.
through the newly launched LCCMedicine From The Microbiome Eradication Microbiome Medicine Center, which seeks to evaluate the targets and benefits of treatment for Neisseria spp.
using antibiotics at the first test, in the hope that this will lead to better clinical outcomes
for patients with chronic respiratory diseases.

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Neisseria species as pathobionts in bronchiectasis