Gene

Intensive care medicine

Biology

Antibiotic resistance

Bacteriophage

Genetics

Antibiotics

Microbiology

Escherichia coli

Phage therapy

Medicine

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences

For a century, bacterial viruses called bacteriophages have been exploited as natural antibacterial agents. However, their medicinal potential has not yet been exploited due to readily available and effective antibiotics. After years of extensive use, both properly and improperly, antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming more prominent and represent a worldwide public health threat. Most importantly, new antibiotics are not progressing at the same rate as the emergence of resistance. The therapeutic modality of bacteriophages, called phage therapy, offers a clinical option to combat bacteria associated with diseases. Here, we discuss traditional phage therapy approaches, as well as how synthetic biology has allowed for the creation of designer phages for new clinical applications. To implement these technologies, several key aspects and challenges still need to be addressed, such as narrow spectrum, safety, and bacterial resistance. We will summarize our current understanding of how phage treatment elicits mammalian host immune responses, as well bacterial phage resistance development, and the potential impact each will have on phage therapy effectiveness. We conclude by discussing the need for a paradigm shift on how phage therapy strategies are developed.

Phage therapy: awakening a sleeping giant