Over the last few decades, bacterial resistance to antibiotics has turned into a major global health problem that the World Health Organization currently recognizes as an urgent priority. A growing number of infections are becoming almost impossible to treat, leading to increased morbidity, mortality, and economical burden. This global challenge is provoking high interest in treatment options as alternative to traditional antibiotics. The use of bacteriophages and their derived lytic enzymes have recently emerged as a promising strategy to combat antibiotic resistant bacterial infections.
With the recent escalation of antibiotic resistance, phage therapy faced a rebirth. The antibacterial character of phages and their lytic proteins – peptidoglycan-cleaving enzymes with the ability to disrupt bacterial cell walls (enzybiotics) - has been intensively explored as hopeful alternatives to conventional antibiotics. Advances in this field are crucial for the development of novel antimicrobial therapies that are efficient against bacteria recalcitrant to antibiotic treatments. The number of case reports describing the use of phages or their lysins in difficult to treat infections has increased significantly in recent years. The aim of this Research Topic is to provide readers with an updated overview of the field, highlighting the most recent advances in the use of phages or lysins for the prevention and/or control of infections, both in pre-clinical and clinical settings.
This Research Topic will accept Original Research, Perspective, Minireviews and Opinion articles on the implementation of phages or phage lysins in the following contexts:
• Biofilm prevention and control
• Synergistic combinations with other antimicrobials
• Drug delivery systems for the release at the site of infection
• Safety and host Immune response
• Engineered variants of phage and lytic enzymes
• Therapies modulating host microbiota
Over the last few decades, bacterial resistance to antibiotics has turned into a major global health problem that the World Health Organization currently recognizes as an urgent priority. A growing number of infections are becoming almost impossible to treat, leading to increased morbidity, mortality, and economical burden. This global challenge is provoking high interest in treatment options as alternative to traditional antibiotics. The use of bacteriophages and their derived lytic enzymes have recently emerged as a promising strategy to combat antibiotic resistant bacterial infections.
With the recent escalation of antibiotic resistance, phage therapy faced a rebirth. The antibacterial character of phages and their lytic proteins – peptidoglycan-cleaving enzymes with the ability to disrupt bacterial cell walls (enzybiotics) - has been intensively explored as hopeful alternatives to conventional antibiotics. Advances in this field are crucial for the development of novel antimicrobial therapies that are efficient against bacteria recalcitrant to antibiotic treatments. The number of case reports describing the use of phages or their lysins in difficult to treat infections has increased significantly in recent years. The aim of this Research Topic is to provide readers with an updated overview of the field, highlighting the most recent advances in the use of phages or lysins for the prevention and/or control of infections, both in pre-clinical and clinical settings.
This Research Topic will accept Original Research, Perspective, Minireviews and Opinion articles on the implementation of phages or phage lysins in the following contexts:
• Biofilm prevention and control
• Synergistic combinations with other antimicrobials
• Drug delivery systems for the release at the site of infection
• Safety and host Immune response
• Engineered variants of phage and lytic enzymes
• Therapies modulating host microbiota