serval:BIB_6572B8A55D64
Resistance Development to Bacteriophages Occurring during Bacteriophage Therapy.
10.3390/v10070351
000445153200013
29966329
Oechslin
F.
author
article
review
2018
Viruses
1999-4915
1999-4915
journal
10
7
351
Bacteriophage (phage) therapy, i.e., the use of viruses that infect bacteria as antimicrobial agents, is a promising alternative to conventional antibiotics. Indeed, resistance to antibiotics has become a major public health problem after decades of extensive usage. However, one of the main questions regarding phage therapy is the possible rapid emergence of phage-resistant bacterial variants, which could impede favourable treatment outcomes. Experimental data has shown that phage-resistant variants occurred in up to 80% of studies targeting the intestinal milieu and 50% of studies using sepsis models. Phage-resistant variants have also been observed in human studies, as described in three out of four clinical trials that recorded the emergence of phage resistance. On the other hand, recent animal studies suggest that bacterial mutations that confer phage-resistance may result in fitness costs in the resistant bacterium, which, in turn, could benefit the host. Thus, phage resistance should not be underestimated and efforts should be made to develop methodologies for monitoring and preventing it. Moreover, understanding and taking advantage of the resistance-induced fitness costs in bacterial pathogens is a potentially promising avenue.
Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology
Bacteria/drug effects
Bacteria/virology
Bacterial Vaccines/immunology
Bacteriophages/physiology
Biological Evolution
Drug Resistance, Bacterial
Evolution, Molecular
Humans
Phage Therapy
Virulence Factors
bacteriophage
phage
phage therapy
phage-resistance
eng
60_published
true
peer-reviewed
University of Lausanne
mailto:serval_help@unil.ch
http://www.unil.ch/serval
http://serval.unil.ch/disclaimer
https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_6572B8A55D64