![]() The most recent randomized clinical phage therapy trial was also stopped prematurely for lack of efficacy, although small effects were deemed encouraging. Offsetting the now many laboratory studies of phages and phage products showing positive results, the few clinical phage therapy trials conducted under standards of Western medicine have actually failed. In the increasingly urgent search for new treatments against bacterial infections, phages and phage products hold promise. ![]() In combination with previous studies these results continue to support the efficacy of depolymerases as antibacterial agents in vivo, but system-specific details are becoming evident. Evolution of bacteria resistant to K1-degrading enzymes did not thwart therapeutic success in leukopenic mice, likely because resistant bacteria were avirulent. ![]() Significantly, K1 capsule-degrading enzymes proved highly successful when using immune-suppressed, leukopenic mice, even with delayed treatment. Route of administration (intramuscular versus intraperitoneal) mattered for success of K1E, possibly for K1F, not for K1H depolymerase. Phage were superior to enzymes under delayed treatment only for K1. Treatment success rates were reduced by treatment delay, more so for some enzymes than others: K1- and K5 capsule-degrading enzymes retained partial efficacy on delay, while K30 depolymerase did not. Here we explore the robustness of depolymerase therapies shown to succeed in a previous study of mice. However, individual animal model studies are often constrained by use of highly specific protocols, such that results may not generalize to even slight modifications. Phage-derived depolymerases directed against bacterial capsules are showing therapeutic promise in various animal models of infection.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |