Phage Therapy: a Step Forward in the Treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance constitutes one of the major worldwide public health concerns. Bacteria are becoming resistant to the vast majority of antibiotics, and nowadays, a common infection can be fatal. To address this situation, the use of phages for the treatment of bacterial infections has been extensively studied as an alternative therapeutic strategy. Since Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most common causes of health care-associated infections, many studies have reported the in vitro and in vivo antibacterial efficacy of phage therapy against this bacterium. This review collects data of all the P. aeruginosa phages sequenced to date, providing a better understanding about their biodiversity. This review further addresses the in vitro and in vivo results obtained by using phages to treat or prevent P. aeruginosa infections as well as the major hurdles associated with this therapy.

FIG 1

P. aeruginosa resistance mechanisms.

FIG 2

(A) Distribution of Caudovirales phages targeting the Pseudomonas genus by Pseudomonas species. (B) Distribution of P. aeruginosa lytic phages by family and genus of phages. (C) Genome sizes of P. aeruginosa lytic phages. (D) Isolation sources of P. aeruginosa lytic phages. (E) Distribution of P. aeruginosa lytic phage isolates by country.