Biofilms study in chronic otitis media with effusion and adenoids
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigation of Biofilms associated with Chronic Otitis Media with Effusion and Adenoids Hypertrophy
IRAS ID
166424
Contact name
Ali Mostafa Wayes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Chronic otitis media with effusion (COME, glue ear) is the most common childhood ear problem and it is the commonest cause of acquired hearing loss in children in the developed world. Increasing evidence implicates bacterial biofilms in the middle ear and nasopharyngeal tonsils (adenoids) as a significant cause of COME.
A bacterial biofilm is a surface associated microbial community enclosed in self-produced polymeric matrix. Resistance to both antibiotic treatment and the body’s defence systems is one of the major clinical features of pathogenic bacterial biofilms.
The ability to effectively study the role of adenoid microbial community (microbiota) structure in the pathogenesis of middle ear diseases, and COME in particular, has been limited by laboratory techniques since it is often difficult to culture and identify fastidious or uncultivable microorganisms, particularly when they reside within biofilms. Advanced high throughput 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene cataloguing methods for characterising microbial community compositions have recently been developed to the point where they are accessible for general microbiology laboratories. These exciting developments are now enabling characterization of the human-associated microbiota at a level of detail that far exceeds previous methods.
In addition, developments in our understanding of biofilms is enabling the development of new technologies that are targeted specifically to biofilm bacteria. For example, recent research in Newcastle University has discovered potent anti-biofilm molecules from marine bacteria that have been shown to work effectively in the dispersal of many non-medical biofilms and medical biofilms obtained from inflamed human paranasal sinuses.
This study aims to identify and compare microbial community components of adenoid samples from patients with COME with those of middle ear effusions, and versus adenoid microbial community components of patients without COME using combination of high throughput 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing and traditional culture assays. Furthermore, the study will also assess the effectiveness of anti-biofilm molecules, such as marine derived extracellular nuclease (NucB), in the dispersal of adenoids and middle ear biofilms outside the body in order to establish important proof-of-concept data for the further development of anti-biofilm molecules that may be helpful in treatment of COME.REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/NE/0225
Date of REC Opinion
20 Jul 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion