Sinusitis diagnostics and treatments

Abstract

Provided herein are compositions for improving sinus microbiota and treating sinusits. Further provided are methods of detecting imbalance in the sinus microbiota that can be indicative of sinusitis, and methods of determining whether an individual has or is at risk of developing sinusitis, e.g., chronic sinusitis.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of treating sinusitis in an individual in need thereof comprising:
 administering at least one bacterial species listed in Table X to the individual, wherein at least one of the bacterial species is a Lactic Acid Bacterial (LAB) species;   allowing the bacterial species to colonize sinonasal mucosa of the individual,   thereby treating sinusitis in the individual.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least five bacterial species listed in Table X are administered. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  or  2 , wherein  Lactobacillus sakei  is administered. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein one bacterial species is administered, and the bacterial species is  Lactobacillus sakei.   
     
     
         5 . The method of any one of the foregoing claims, wherein the colonized sinonasal mucosa is the maxillary sinus. 
     
     
         6 . The method of any one of the foregoing claims, wherein the at least one bacterial species is administered nasally or to the sinuses. 
     
     
         7 . The method of any one of the foregoing claims, further comprising detecting the microbial diversity of the sinus mucosa of the individual. 
     
     
         8 . The method of any one of the foregoing claims, further comprising detecting the relative level of  Corynebacterium  in a mucosal sample from the individual, and
 comparing the relative level of  Corynebacterium  in the sample to a control of  Corynebacterium  levels.   
     
     
         9 . A pharmaceutical composition comprising at least one bacterial species listed in Table X, wherein at least one of the bacterial species is a Lactic Acid Bacterial (LAB) species, and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient suitable for nasal administration. 
     
     
         10 . The pharmaceutical composition of  claim 9 , comprising at least five bacterial species listed in Table X. 
     
     
         11 . The pharmaceutical composition of  claim 9 , comprising  Lactobacillus sakei.   
     
     
         12 . The pharmaceutical composition of  claim 9 , consisting essentially of one bacterial species, wherein the bacterial species is  Lactobacillus sakei.   
     
     
         13 . A method of improving the sinus microbiota in an individual comprising:
 administering at least one bacterial species listed in Table X to the individual, wherein at least one of the bacterial species is a Lactic Acid Bacterial (LAB) species;   allowing the bacterial species to colonize sinonasal mucosa of the individual,   thereby improving the sinus microbiota in the individual.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein at least five bacterial species listed in Table X are administered. 
     
     
         15 . The method of any one of  claims 13 - 15 , wherein  Lactobacillus sakei  is administered. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein one bacterial species is administered, and the bacterial species is  Lactobacillus sakei.   
     
     
         17 . The method of any one of  claims 13 - 16 , wherein the colonized sinonasal mucosa is the maxillary sinus. 
     
     
         18 . The method of any one of  claims 13 - 17 , further comprising detecting the microbial diversity of the sinonasal mucosa of the individual. 
     
     
         19 . The method of any one of  claims 13 - 18 , further comprising detecting the relative level of  Corynebacterium  in a mucosal sample from the individual, and
 comparing the relative level of  Corynebacterium  in the sample to a control of  Corynebacterium  levels.   
     
     
         20 . A method of determining whether an individual has or is at risk of developing sinusitis, comprising:
 detecting the relative level of Corynebacteria in a mucosal sample from the individual,   comparing the relative level of Corynebacteria in the sample to a control of Corynebacteria levels, and   determining that the individual has or is at risk of developing sinusitis where the relative level of Corynebacteria in the sample is   (i) higher than the control, wherein the control is a non-sinusitis control or   (ii) in the range of the control, wherein the control is a sinusitis-positive control.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the Corynebacteria is  Corynebacterium tuberculostearicum.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 20  or  21 , wherein the mucosal sample is from the maxillary sinus of the individual. 
     
     
         23 . The method of any one of  claims 20 - 22 , comprising obtaining a mucosal sample from the maxillary sinus of the individual before detecting. 
     
     
         24 . The method of any one of  claims 20 - 23 , further comprising administering a sinusitis therapeutic agent to the individual. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the sinusitis therapeutic is a pharmaceutical composition comprising at least one bacterial species listed in Table X, wherein at least one of the bacterial species is a Lactic Acid Bacterial (LAB) species. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the sinusitis therapeutic is a pharmaceutical composition comprising at least five bacterial species listed in Table X. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 25  or  26 , wherein the pharmaceutical composition comprises  Lactobacillus sakei.