Publication
Title
Case-control microbiome study of chronic otitis media with effusion in children points at Streptococcus salivarius as a pathobiont-inhibiting species
Author
Abstract
Chronic otitis media with effusion (OME) has been associated with a shift in microbiome composition and microbial interaction in the upper respiratory tract (URT). While most studies have focused on potential pathogens, this study aimed to find bacteria that could be protective against OME through a case-control microbiome study and characterization of isolates from healthy subjects. The URT and ear microbiome profiles of 70 chronic OME patients and 53 controls were compared by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Haemophilus influenzae was the most frequent classic middle ear pathobiont. However, other taxa, especially Alloiococcus otitis, were also frequently detected in the ear canal of OME patients. Streptococci of the salivarius group and Acinetobacter lwoffii were more abundant in the nasopharynx of healthy controls than in OME patients. In addition to the microbiome analysis, 142 taxa were isolated from healthy individuals, and 79 isolates of 13 different Streptococcus species were tested for their pathobiont-inhibiting potential. Of these, Streptococcus salivarius isolates showed a superior capacity to inhibit the growth of H. influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, A. otitis, and Corynebacterium otitidis. S. salivarius strains thus show potential as a probiotic for prevention or treatment of OME based on their overrepresentation in the healthy nasopharynx and their ability to inhibit the growth of respiratory pathobionts. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under registration no. NCT03109496.) IMPORTANCE The majority of probiotics marketed today target gastrointestinal health. This study searched for bacteria native to the human upper respiratory tract, with a beneficial potential for respiratory and middle ear health. Comparison of the microbiomes of children with chronic otitis media with effusion (OME) and of healthy controls identified Streptococcus salivarius as a health-associated and prevalent inhabitant of the human nasopharynx. However, beneficial potential should be assessed at strain level. Here, we also isolated specific S. salivarius strains from the healthy individuals in our study. These isolates showed a beneficial safety profile and efficacy potential to inhibit OME pathogens in vitro. These properties will now have to be evaluated and confirmed in human clinical studies.
Language
English
Source (journal)
mSystems. - [S.l.]
Publication
[S.l.] : ASM , 2021
ISSN
2379-5077
DOI
10.1128/MSYSTEMS.00056-21
Volume/pages
6 :2 (2021) , 17 p.
Article Reference
e00056-21
ISI
000668658500003
Pubmed ID
33879499
Medium
E-only publicatie
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
ProCure : Defining the future of probiotics for upper respiratory tract diseases.
Evolutionary genomics of lactobacilli
Assessment of the nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae and other common pathogens in infants (6-30 months) with acute otitis media and in healthy infants (6-30 months) attending day-care centres in Belgium.
Confidential
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 30.07.2021
Last edited 04.03.2024
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