Bacteriophages as therapeutic agents: Alternatives to antibiotics

Theodor Bilharz Research Institute

Bibliographic Information

Authors: Samir S.

Journal: Recent Patents on Biotechnology

Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers

Publication Date: March 2021

Volume / Issue: Volume 15 / Issue 1

Pages: 25–33

ISSN: 18722083

DOI: 10.2174/1872208315666210121094311

Scopus: View on Scopus

PubMed: 33475081

Document Type: Review

Authors and Affiliations

Samir S., Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Giza, Egypt

Abstract

Bacteriophages are bacterio-specific viruses that constitute the main portion of the environment. Bacteriophages inject their genome into the targeted bacterial cells and some of them can disrupt the metabolism of bacteria and cause bacterial cell disintegration. The application of bacteriophages to kill bacteria is known as bacteriophage therapy. Since bacteriophages target bacteria and are strain-specific, every bacteriophage/bacterial host pair is unique. They are believed to cause no harm to humans. An additional advantage of the strain-specific nature of bacteriophages is that they do not disrupt the beneficial natural flora in the body. Bacteriophage therapy in the West is not a recognized medicine at this time, and no products are registered. Some clinicians are turning to bacteriophage therapy for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections. Lack of adverse effects makes bacteriophage therapy ideal for use. Funding research, media attention, and the increased publication of articles helped in a widespread understanding of its therapeutic potential. The first prerequisite for the use of bacteriophage therapy is simply the availability of bacteriophages for treatment, which is often complicated at this stage of bacteriophage production. This includes providing access to all biologically active bacteriophages against the bacterial isolate of the patient and meeting regulatory criteria of purity, traceability, and characterization. A monophage preparation, which is a single bacteriophage, or a phage cocktail, which consists of a number of combined bacteriophages against one or more bacterial species may be used. Accordingly, the antibiotic resistance crisis brought back bacteriophage therapy as a potential complementary or alternative treatment. Bacteriophages are promising cheap antibacterials. © 2021 Bentham Science Publishers.

Keywords

Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotic therapy; Bacterial infection; Bacteriophage therapy; Phage; Staphylococcus; Bacteria; Bacteriophages; Disintegration; antibiotic agent; bactericide; Adverse effect; Antibiotics resistance; Bacterial cells; Bacterial infections; Cell disintegration; Specific nature; Therapeutic agents; alternative medicine; antibacterial activity; bacterial virulence; bactericidal activity; bacteriophage; Caenorhabditis elegans; clinical trial (topic); cross resistance; Drosophila melanogaster; Galleria mellonella; Gallus gallus; good manufacturing practice; host range; Mus musculus; nonhuman; Oryctolagus cuniculus; phage therapy; Review; Syrian hamster; virus morphology; zebra fish; Antibiotics

Citation Information

Scopus Citations: 15

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