Phage Therapy: A Different Approach to Fight Bacterial Infections

Citations Over TimeTop 1% of 2022 papers

Abstract

Phage therapy is one of the alternatives to treat infections caused by both antibiotic-sensitive and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, with no or low toxicity to patients. It was started a century ago, although rapidly growing bacterial antimicrobial resistance, resulting in high levels of morbidity, mortality, and financial cost, has initiated the revival of phage therapy. It involves the use of live lytic, bioengineered, phage-encoded biological products, in combination with chemical antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. Importantly, phages will be removed from the body within seven days of clearing an infection. They target specific bacterial strains and cause minimal disruption to the microbial balance in humans. Phages for medication must be screened for the absence of resistant genes, virulent genes, cytotoxicity, and their interaction with the host tissue and organs. Since they are immunogenic, applying a high phage titer for therapy exposes them and activates the host immune system. To date, no serious side effects have been reported with human phage therapy. In this review, we describe phage-phagocyte interaction, bacterial resistance to phages, how phages conquer bacterial resistance, the role of genetic engineering and other technologies in phage therapy, and the therapeutic application of modified phages and phage-encoded products. We also highlight the comparison of antibiotics and lytic phage therapy, the pros and cons of phage therapy, determinants of human phage therapy trials, phage quality and safety requirements, phage storage and handling, and current challenges in phage therapy.

Related Papers

• → <p>How Phages Overcome the Challenges of Drug Resistant Bacteria in Clinical Infections</p>(2020)150 cited
• → Isolation and characterization of a bacteriophage and its potential to disrupt multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms(2019)83 cited
• → Biocontrol of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus using a virulent bacteriophage derived from a temperate one(2022)12 cited
• → Restriction and Modification in Group N Streptococci: Effect of Heat on Development of Modified Lytic Bacteriophage(1980)88 cited
• → Complete Genome Sequence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Lytic Bacteriophage PA1Ø Which Resembles Temperate Bacteriophage D3112(2012)15 cited