Phage therapy: From biological mechanisms to future directions

Steffanie A Strathdee; Graham F Hatfull; Vivek K Mutalik; Robert T Schooley

doi:10.1016/j.cell.2022.11.017

Phage therapy: From biological mechanisms to future directions

Cell. 2023 Jan 5;186(1):17-31. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.11.017.

Authors

Steffanie A Strathdee¹, Graham F Hatfull², Vivek K Mutalik³, Robert T Schooley⁴

Affiliations

¹ Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics, Division of Infectious Disease and Global Public Health, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0507, USA. Electronic address: sstrathdee@health.ucsd.edu.
² Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
³ Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
⁴ Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics, Division of Infectious Disease and Global Public Health, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0507, USA.

Abstract

Increasing antimicrobial resistance rates have revitalized bacteriophage (phage) research, the natural predators of bacteria discovered over 100 years ago. In order to use phages therapeutically, they should (1) preferably be lytic, (2) kill the bacterial host efficiently, and (3) be fully characterized to exclude side effects. Developing therapeutic phages takes a coordinated effort of multiple stakeholders. Herein, we review the state of the art in phage therapy, covering biological mechanisms, clinical applications, remaining challenges, and future directions involving naturally occurring and genetically modified or synthetic phages.

Keywords: bacteriophage; bacteriophage therapy; phage; phage therapy.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bacteria
Bacteriophages*
Phage Therapy*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding