Phage therapy as a weapon against multidrug-resistant bacteria

In this informative capsule, Dr. Pilar Domingo-Calap tells us about a treatment for the fight against multidrug-resistant bacteria: phage therapy.
There are millions of viruses in our environment. Normally, when we hear the word "virus" we think of something bad that hurts us. But what if it turns out that we can use these viruses to our advantage?
Dr. Domingo-Calap tells us that if we have a certain number of bacteria in the body, it turns out that there are 10 times more viruses, therefore, they coexist with us. Just as most of the bacteria we have in the body help us (those of the intestinal flora, for example), viruses are also, for the most part, harmless.
Our immune system is used to living with these viruses.
Phage therapy was discovered in 1915 by Frederick Twort. Two years later, Felix d'Herelle observed that phages always appeared on the chairs of patients recovering from dysentery caused by shigellosis. A few years later, with the appearance of penicillin in 1928, thanks to Alexander Fleming, phage therapy was gradually abandoned by antibiotics. However, due to the isolation of some countries because of the world wars, phage therapy continued to be used in Russia, Poland and Georgia.
But what is a phage? A phage is a bacterial virus. Normally, a virus parasitizes a cell and kills it. If we use this quality of the virus against bacteria, we will have a therapeutic virus that will only kill the bacteria. These are viruses that have been selected so that they can only fight bacteria, but without altering the genome of any cell in our body, thus avoiding side effects.
Dr. Pilar Domingo-Calap has worked on the case of two people with Cystic Fibrosis in the Balearic Islands, both with different strains of Mycobacterium Abscesus, finding the phage that can kill each of the strains. At this time, it is necessary for the clinical specialist to apply this treatment on a compassionate use basis.
It should be remembered that treatment for this type of super bacteria with antibiotics is not very effective and carries many side effects that can change the life of the treated person. We are talking about possible effects of deafness, skin or nerve conditions of the extremities, etc. Therefore, in cases in which the team of specialists does not have effective antibiotics, phage therapy can be a good alternative as a treatment for compassionate use.
How does the phage act against bacteria?
The adaptive capacity of bacteria to defend themselves against antibiotics is well known. One of their defenses is to create a protective barrier that usually has two channels. The antibiotic can enter through one, but is expelled by the other without being able to act against the bacterium.
However, the bacterium can only adapt its defenses to a single intruder, so if the bacterium detects and fights the antibiotic, it will not be prepared to defend itself against the phage.
If the bacterium modifies its defense against the phage, then it will be sensitive to the antibiotic and the antibiotic will be able to kill it.
Therefore, it is not a question of eradicating the antibiotic treatment, but of seeing whether the phage is capable of killing the bacteria on its own or whether it acts in combination with the antibiotic to neutralize the bacteria that is causing harmful effects in the person.
Dr. Domingo-Calap explains that, although her research is mainly focused on bacteria of the respiratory system, phage therapy is applicable to any bacterial infection (respiratory, cutaneous, etc.) in humans, veterinary medicine and agriculture. Her laboratory, located at the University of Valencia, in a joint University-CSIC center called I2SysBio, needs funds for further research, since they develop all the steps of the process: isolation of the phage from the environment, characterization and sequencing, cleaning the virus of toxins and production of the virus in therapeutic vials so that they can be used.
This implies a great expense in personnel and to take the final step of product certification for its clinical application.
The Cystic Fibrosis Spanish Federation has launched its fundraising campaign #AdoptaUnFago (fibrosisquistica.org/la-fefq-...) to collaborate in the advancement of this exciting new therapy for the Cystic Fibrosis collective.
#TogetheragainstCF

[@Rhythmicalic]

Excelente trabajo; en España la muerte por bacterias es alta. De.verdad y de corazón gracias.