Innate immunity of the middle ear and its role in otitis media

Abstract

Otitis media is one of the most common diseases in the world and generally it also belongs to the most frequent causes of hearing loss. In some cases, it may progress to chronic otitis media despite adequate initial treatment. Due to its complex pathogenesis and growing resistance of pathogens to antibio­tic treatment, it is necessary to look for other therapeutic procedures that could be used to modulate and treat this disease. Therefore, it is essential to understand the role of innate immunity of the middle ear in defence against microorganisms. In this article, we discuss the role of innate immunity in otitis media and point to the role of innate immune cells in protecting the middle ear in the light of current knowledge. The innate immune system in the middle ear is responsible for rapid identification and subsequent elimination of pathogens. Cells of the immune system express a multitude of receptors with diverse functions to eliminate many infections before a weakly antigen-sensitized adaptive immunity develops. Keywords: immunogenetics – otitis media – middle ear immunity