The fall and rise of phage therapy in modern medicine

Górski, Andrzej; Międzybrodzki, Ryszard; Jończyk‐Matysiak, Ewa; Borysowski, Jan; Letkiewicz, Sławomir; Weber‐Dąbrowska, Beata

doi:10.1080/14712598.2019.1651287

Cited by 20 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The appearance of bacterial strains resistant to most or even all known antibiotics has become a real difficulty in medicine [ 2 , 3 ], and the need to find alternative methods of treatment of human and animal diseases caused by such bacteria is obvious [ 4 , 5 ]. The use of bacteriophages (or phages), viruses infecting bacterial cells, as alternative therapeutic agents is currently a hot topic; however, apart from many advantages of the use of phages in the treatment of humans and animals, including specificity of phages to selected bacteria without affecting the natural microbiota, their propagation restricted only to the presence of hosts, possibility to kill antibiotic-resistant cells, and a lack of documented considerable adverse effects related to phage administration, there are also controversies about both the efficacy and safety of such a method [ 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When considering phage therapy as an alternative treatment of human and animal infectious diseases, some conditions and requirements appear crucial [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Firstly, a large collection of phages infecting various bacterial species and strains must be established to offer an effective means of treatment of patients or animals suffering from diseases caused by different bacteria.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thirdly, phages used in therapeutic approaches should not bear genes coding for toxins or other agents which are deleterious for humans and animals. These requirements indicate that isolation and detailed characterization of many bacteriophages is necessary to develop potentially effective phage therapy procedures [ 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characteristics of a Series of Three Bacteriophages Infecting Salmonella enterica Strains

Kosznik-Kwaśnicka

Ciemińska

Grabski

et al. 2020

IJMS

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Molecular and functional characterization of a series of three bacteriophages, vB_SenM-1, vB_SenM-2, and vB_SenS-3, infecting various Salmonella enterica serovars and strains is presented. All these phages were able to develop lytically while not forming prophages. Moreover, they were able to survive at pH 3. The phages revealed different host ranges within serovars and strains of S. enterica, different adsorption rates on host cells, and different lytic growth kinetics at various temperatures (in the range of 25 to 42 °C). They efficiently reduced the number of cells in the bacterial biofilm and decreased the biofilm mass. Whole genome sequences of these phages have been determined and analyzed, including their phylogenetic relationships. In conclusion, we have demonstrated detailed characterization of a series of three bacteriophages, vB_SenM-1, vB_SenM-2, and vB_SenS-3, which reveal favorable features in light of their potential use in phage therapy of humans and animals, as well as for food protection purposes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characteristics of a Series of Three Bacteriophages Infecting Salmonella enterica Strains

Kosznik-Kwaśnicka

Ciemińska

Grabski

et al. 2020

IJMS

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“…This coupled with the urgent need for an alternative to antibiotics, has allowed for a resurgence of bacteriophage therapy research, and the prospects for development of phage-based anti-bacterial drug candidates. This is seen in the fact that as at 2019, the number of publications on phage biology available on PubMed increased to more than 600, compared to a total of 161 between 2007 and 2011 and approximately 15 at the turn of the century (1997–2001) [39] . Furthermore, there has been a surge in the number of clinical trials in human and animal models and cases of compassionate use, according to the Helsinki declaration, in life-threatening infections (summarized in Table 1 , reviewed in [40] ).…”

Section: The Resurgence Of Bacteriophage Therapy a Familiar Alternatmentioning

confidence: 99%

An exegesis of bacteriophage therapy: An emerging player in the fight against anti-microbial resistance

et al. 2020

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Bacteriophages (simply referred to as Phages) are a class of viruses with the ability to infect and kill prokaryotic cells (bacteria), but are unable to infect mammalian cells. This unique ability to achieve specific infectiousness by bacteriophages has been harnessed in antibacterial treatments dating back almost a decade before the antibiotic era began. Bacteriophages were used as therapeutic agents in treatment of dysentery caused by Shigella dysenteriae as far back as 1919 and in the experimental treatment of a wide variety of other bacterial infections caused by Vibrio cholerae , Staphylococcus sp. , Pseudomonas sp. etc, with varying degrees of success. Phage therapy and its many prospects soon fell out of favour in western medicine after the Second World War, with the discovery of penicillin. The Soviet Union and other countries in Eastern Europe however mastered the craft of bacteriophage isolation, purification and cocktail preparation, with phage-based therapeutics becoming widely available over-the-counter. With the recent rise in cases of multi-drug resistant bacterial infections, the clamour for a return to phage therapy, as a potential solution to the anti-microbial resistance (AMR) crisis has grown louder. This review provides an extensive exposé on phage therapy, addressing its historical use, evidences of its safety and efficacy, its pros and cons when compared with antibiotics, cases of compassionate use for treating life-threatening antibiotic-resistant infections, the limitations to its acceptance and how these may be circumvented.

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“…12 Because of increasing concerns with bacterial resistance and the evolution of so-called "superbugs," phage therapy has reemerged as an important and viable option. 13,14 I am aware of only one modern, completed clinical trial of phage therapy 15 : a small-sample, multicenter, Phase I/II study in patients with burn wounds infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Thirteen patients received a cocktail of 12 antieP aeruginosa phages, and the control group (n ¼ 14) was treated with a sulfadiazine silver cream.…”

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Host–Pathogen Interactions

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Clinical Therapeutics

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I first learned about hostepathogen interactions during my medical school years (1956e1960). In microbiology, the major focus was on bacteria and viruses as pathogens, but we also learned about commensal relationships in which humans are hosts of nonpathogenic bacteria and viruses. In addition, we covered intermediary hosts such as the mosquito for malaria and for the filarial worm Wuchereria bancrofti. Saying the latter name aloud amused me then. It still does, although I hasten to add that the serious infirmities it causes are not at all amusing. While I have forgotten much that I learned in those years, the curious names for certain parasites still stick with me. Somehow the flowing and alliterative pronunciations of such parasites have kept my knowledge about them intact even after 60 years. Two other parasites prevalent in central Africa are memorable: (1) Loa loa, a filaria that causes eye disease and is carried by the deer fly (aka deer ked)dthe deer fly also is a vector for other diseases such as anthrax, tularemia, and Lyme disease; and (2) Onchocerca volvulus, which is carried by blackflies and causes river blindness. I recently learned that the deer fly population on deer, moose, and elk is increasing in the United States and Canada. 1 Fortunately, deer flies rarely bite people, and in North America they are not known to carry Loa loa. We also briefly discussed a relatively recently discovered bacterium that was described as an aerobic gram-negative rod found in onions (Allium cepa). 2 A number of years later it was named Burkholderia cepacia. 3 B cepacia generally does not harm humans. It exists in soil and in water all over the world except in areas of extreme cold, causing disease in vulnerable people (eg, compromised immune systems, cystic fibrosis [CF]) and skin rot in many damaged or weakened plants (eg, tomatoes, potatoes, bananas, soybeans, and garlic). 4,5 The pathology it produces in onions, known as sour skin rot, is especially common when onions are stored in warm, moist, dark places and have started to sprout. Because it is resistant to many antibiotics, colonization with B cepacia in the lungs of patients with CF has been associated with poor outcomes. It increases their lung congestion and problems with breathing and can produce high fevers and cause death. Although the transmission of B cepacia may occur from contact with an infected plant, human-to-human contact and contact with contaminated surfaces (eg, doorknobs) are the more common modes of spread. 6e8 B cepacia began to have personal significance for me years ago when the daughter of one of my nieces was found to be colonized with it. Mallory Smith was a beautiful, positive, happy child who loved life and sports, including volleyball, swimming, and water polo. For the last 15 years of her life she kept a secret diary; excerpts from it have recently been published posthumously by Random House with the title Salt in My Soul. 9 She was a gifted writer and her words tell an informative and poignant story of what it is like to endure a...

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The fall and rise of phage therapy in modern medicine

Cited by 20 publications

References 16 publications

Characteristics of a Series of Three Bacteriophages Infecting Salmonella enterica Strains

Characteristics of a Series of Three Bacteriophages Infecting Salmonella enterica Strains

An exegesis of bacteriophage therapy: An emerging player in the fight against anti-microbial resistance

Host–Pathogen Interactions

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