Severe infectious diseases caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria are projected to increase and become deadlier than cancer by 2050. This has encouraged scientists to develop novel strategies to fight this public health threat. Among these, the use of lytic viruses of bacteria (bacteriophages or phages) is an interesting alternative to eradicate some human pathogens.
Phages are highly ubiquitous and are in a constant battle with their bacterial hosts. This arms race between phages and their hosts drives both phage and bacterial evolution. The number of phages in the biosphere is close to 1031 and the number of phages that can infect a bacterial host surpasses the number of bacterial species that are of public health concern. Phages are also somewhat easy to isolate - testing their lytic abilities is inexpensive when compared to other therapies.
The number of phage therapies used in agricultural or veterinary settings has increased exponentially in the past few years. However, phage therapy and its use in human health have stalled in Occidental countries compared to Eastern Europe, and it has only been used as a compassionate measure in patients where no other treatments are available, and more recently as an emergency investigational new drug.
The trend toward using phages as an alternative treatment in personalized medicine is increasing, but we should be cautious in their uncontrolled use. Bacteria have evolved conserved mechanisms of phage resistance that can set phage therapy back and give origin to the same problems we face now when it comes to antibiotic resistance.
In this Research Topic, we would like to welcome articles that explore phage-host dynamic interactions and that focus primarily on:
· potential therapeutic strategies;
· mechanisms of phage resistance;
· the impact of phage-host interactions in bacterial evolution.
We can be better suited to overcome phage resistance in the future If we thoroughly study these aspects before implementing phage therapies.
Severe infectious diseases caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria are projected to increase and become deadlier than cancer by 2050. This has encouraged scientists to develop novel strategies to fight this public health threat. Among these, the use of lytic viruses of bacteria (bacteriophages or phages) is an interesting alternative to eradicate some human pathogens.
Phages are highly ubiquitous and are in a constant battle with their bacterial hosts. This arms race between phages and their hosts drives both phage and bacterial evolution. The number of phages in the biosphere is close to 1031 and the number of phages that can infect a bacterial host surpasses the number of bacterial species that are of public health concern. Phages are also somewhat easy to isolate - testing their lytic abilities is inexpensive when compared to other therapies.
The number of phage therapies used in agricultural or veterinary settings has increased exponentially in the past few years. However, phage therapy and its use in human health have stalled in Occidental countries compared to Eastern Europe, and it has only been used as a compassionate measure in patients where no other treatments are available, and more recently as an emergency investigational new drug.
The trend toward using phages as an alternative treatment in personalized medicine is increasing, but we should be cautious in their uncontrolled use. Bacteria have evolved conserved mechanisms of phage resistance that can set phage therapy back and give origin to the same problems we face now when it comes to antibiotic resistance.
In this Research Topic, we would like to welcome articles that explore phage-host dynamic interactions and that focus primarily on:
· potential therapeutic strategies;
· mechanisms of phage resistance;
· the impact of phage-host interactions in bacterial evolution.
We can be better suited to overcome phage resistance in the future If we thoroughly study these aspects before implementing phage therapies.
