Table 1.

Studies conducted on microbiome in interstitial lung diseases.

Disease state	Assessment method(s)	Conclusions	References
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)	16S rRNA sequencing of BALF; 454 pyrosequencing; quantitative BALF culture	IPF patients have increased bacterial burdens in lungs, enriched for pathogenic genera like Staphylococcus and Streptococcus	(22–26)
Sarcoidosis	16S rRNA sequencing of BALF, lymph node biopsies, spleen tissue; shotgun metagenomic sequencing of BALF	Alteration of microbiome in sarcoidosis is unclear—results vary by study and specimen type, but possible loss of diversity in sarcoidosis lung microbial community	(28–31)
Idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP)	16S rRNA sequencing of BALF	No change between lung microbiome of health and IIP patients	(29)
Systemic Sclerosis (SSc)	16S rRNA sequencing of SSc patient fecal samples	Dysbiosis of intestinal microbiome in SSc patients compared to healthy controls	(34)
Silicosis	16S rRNA sequencing of silicosis patient fecal samples	Decrease in microbial diversity in intestinal community with enrichment of Proteobacteria	(8)
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis	16S rRNA sequencing of fecal samples using a murine model of HP	Bacteroidetes phylum enriched in streptomycin treated animals that develop severe HP	(36)