AUTHOR=Laucirica Daniel R. , Stick Stephen M. , Garratt Luke W. , Kicic Anthony 

TITLE=Bacteriophage: A new therapeutic player to combat neutrophilic inflammation in chronic airway diseases

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2022.1069929

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2022.1069929

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=Persistent respiratory bacterial infections are a clinical burden in several chronic inflammatory airway diseases and are often associated with neutrophil infiltration into the lungs. Following recruitment, dysregulated neutrophil effector functions such as increased granule release and formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) result in damage to airway tissue, contributing to the progression of lung disease. Bacterial pathogens are a major driver of airway neutrophilic inflammation, however, traditional management of infections with antibiotic therapy is becoming less effective as rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) rise. Bacteriophage (phage) are now frequently identified as antimicrobial alternatives for AMR airway infections. Despite growing recognition of their bactericidal function, less is known about how bacteriophage influence activity of neutrophils recruited to sites of bacterial infection in the lungs. In this review, we summarize current in vitro and in vivo findings on the effects of phage therapy on neutrophils and their inflammatory mediators, as well as mechanisms of phage-neutrophil interactions. Understanding these effects not only provides further validation of their safety in humans, but also identifies phage as a targeted neutrophil-modulating therapeutic for inflammatory airway conditions.