Presence of Dolosigranulum pigrum in the nasopharynx and its relationship with respiratory health status in paediatric population
6 affiliations
- 1Infectious Diseases and Microbiome Group, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu (IRSJD), Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
- 2Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
- 3CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- 4Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
- 5Faculty of Medicine, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- 6Genomics & Health Department, FISABIO Foundation, Valencia, Spain
Abstract
Background: Respiratory tract infections range from asymptomatic colonisation to an invasive disease. Recent studies suggest that nasopharyngeal microbiota may influence this variability. Emerging evidence points to Dolosigranulum pigrum, a nasopharyngeal commensal, as a potentially protective bacterium. This study aimed to identify variables associated with the presence of D. pigrum in the nasopharynx of children with varying respiratory health statuses. Methods: Nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from children <18 years who were asymptomatic (n = 65), had banal viral infection (n = 48), or Invasive Pneumococcal Disease (IPD) (n = 27). The presence of D. pigrum was defined as >0.1% of total sequences obtained by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Variables included sex, breastfeeding, delivery mode, S. pneumoniae carriage, respiratory viruses and clinical features. Results: Among 140 children (73 males, 67 females), D. pigrum was detected in 79 (56.4%): 44/65 in the healthy group; 26/48 of viral and 9/27 IPD cases. Multivariate analysis revealed significant associations with health status and sex. Healthy children were more likely to carry D. pigrum than IPD cases (44/79 vs. 26/79; p = 0.028). Males were more frequently D. pigrum carriers than females (48/79 vs. 31/79; p = 0.033). Conclusion: D. Pigrum was associated with respiratory health, being more prevalent in healthy children, and showed potential sex-related differences.
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BibTeX
@article{cisneros2026presence,
title = {{Presence of Dolosigranulum pigrum in the nasopharynx and its relationship with respiratory health status in paediatric population}},
author = {Maria Cisneros and Desirée Henares and Aleix Lluansí and Pedro Brotons and Cristian Launes and Daniel Penela-Sanchez and Gerard Gonzalez-Comino and Amaresh Perez-Arguello and Mariona F. de Sevilla and Alex Mira and Miguel Blanco-Fuertes and Carmen Muñoz-Almagro},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0345189},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0345189},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Presence of Dolosigranulum pigrum in the nasopharynx and its relationship with respiratory health status in paediatric population
AU - Maria Cisneros
AU - Desirée Henares
AU - Aleix Lluansí
AU - Pedro Brotons
AU - Cristian Launes
AU - Daniel Penela-Sanchez
AU - Gerard Gonzalez-Comino
AU - Amaresh Perez-Arguello
AU - Mariona F. de Sevilla
AU - Alex Mira
AU - Miguel Blanco-Fuertes
AU - Carmen Muñoz-Almagro
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/02
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0345189
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0345189
AB - Background: Respiratory tract infections range from asymptomatic colonisation to an invasive disease. Recent studies suggest that nasopharyngeal microbiota may influence this variability. Emerging evidence points to Dolosigranulum pigrum, a nasopharyngeal commensal, as a potentially protective bacterium. This study aimed to identify variables associated with the presence of D. pigrum in the nasopharynx of children with varying respiratory health statuses. Methods: Nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from children <18 years who were asymptomatic (n = 65), had banal viral infection (n = 48), or Invasive Pneumococcal Disease (IPD) (n = 27). The presence of D. pigrum was defined as >0.1% of total sequences obtained by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Variables included sex, breastfeeding, delivery mode, S. pneumoniae carriage, respiratory viruses and clinical features. Results: Among 140 children (73 males, 67 females), D. pigrum was detected in 79 (56.4%): 44/65 in the healthy group; 26/48 of viral and 9/27 IPD cases. Multivariate analysis revealed significant associations with health status and sex. Healthy children were more likely to carry D. pigrum than IPD cases (44/79 vs. 26/79; p = 0.028). Males were more frequently D. pigrum carriers than females (48/79 vs. 31/79; p = 0.033). Conclusion: D. Pigrum was associated with respiratory health, being more prevalent in healthy children, and showed potential sex-related differences.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -