Characterization of serum metabolome and respiratory microbiota in children with influenza A virus infection.

Abstract

The risk of children being infected with Influenza A virus (IAV) is high, and if not treated promptly, it can lead to serious illness. Compared with control group, IAV infection decreased the contents of platelet, white blood cell, lymphocyte, eosinophil, basophil, CD3⁺ T cells, CD4⁺ T cells, CD8⁺ T cells, and B cells, while increasing the number of red blood cell. Additionally, IAV infection increased serum concentrations of total protein, albumin and lipase, while decreasing the contents of calcium, triglyceride, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, indirect bilirubin and gamma-glutamyltransferase. However, the interactions between the respiratory microbiome and metabolites and their impact on IAV in children remains unclear. Ultra performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS) and 16S rRNA gene sequencing were employed to analysis the respiratory microbiome and serum metabolic characteristics of 85 patients with IAV infection and age-matched 55 controls with respiratory disease who tested negative for 13 types of respiratory pathogens. The serum metabolic profile of IAV patients was significantly changed, and the purine metabolism was destroyed. Purine metabolism was also enriched in H3N2 patients compared to H1N1, with increased xanthine, deoxyguanosine, and inosine. The respiratory microbiome structure in children with IAV, including H1N1 and H3N2, was significantly different from that of the control, with significantly increased Chao index. The Mantel test revealed the correlation and consistency in the trends of Haemophilus, Ureaplasma and Inosine. This study revealed the characteristics of the respiratory microbiome and serum metabolites in pediatric patients with IAV, providing a new direction for exploring the pathogenesis of IAV in children.