Zirui Zhao1,2 · Liqin Wang1,2 · Zhen Guo3 · Kanglun Jiang4 · Jianghong Xu1,2 · Yilai Shu1,2 · Christina Y. Xu5 · Jianning Zhang6 · Yunfeng Wang1,2 · Geng‑Lin Li1,21 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, ENT Institute, and NHC Key Laboratory of Hearing Medicine, Eye and ENT Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China
2 Institutes of Brain Science, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China
3 School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of Human Microenvironment and Precision Medicine of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China
4 Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
5 College of Letters and Sciences, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
6 Department of Otolaryngology, Yueyang Hospital of Integrative Chinese and Western Medicine Afliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200437, China
Abstract
Otitis media is an infection of the middle ear mainly caused by bacteria, and current treatments rely heavily on antibiotics. However, the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains seriously affects their efficacy. In our study, we found that extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from human natural killer cells (NKs) inhibit the proliferation of both standard and levofloxacin (LVX)-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, compared to LVX, EVs were more effective at reducing effusion and rescuing hearing thresholds in animal models. For LVX-sensitive strains, EVs were significantly more effective in terms of curative time but not curative rate. For LVX-resistant strains, EVs were significantly more effective in terms of both curative rate and curative time when applied alone or applied jointly with LVX. In summary, we found that NK EVs are highly effective in treating otitis media, providing an alternative approach for treating this common disease.
Keywords
Natural killer cell; Extracellular vesicle; Otitis media; Anti-bacteria
