Govindan Dayanithi

By Ramasamy Palaniappan and Govindan Dayanithi

Bacteriophages are bacterial cell-borne viruses that act as natural bacteria killers and they have been identified as therapeutic antibacterial agents. Bacteriophage therapy is a bacterial disease medication that is given to humans after a diagnosis of the disease to prevent and manage a number of bacterial infections. The ability of phage to invade and destroy their target bacterial host cells determines the efficacy of bacteriophage therapy. Bacteriophage therapy, which can be specific or nonspecific and can include a single phage or a cocktail of phages, is a safe treatment choice for antibiotic-resistant and recurrent bacterial infections after antibiotics have failed. A therapy is a cure for health problems, which is administered after the diagnosis of the diseases in the patient. Such non-antibiotic treatment approaches for drug-resistant bacteria are thought to be a promising new alternative to antibiotic therapy and vaccination. The occurrence, biology, morphology, infectivity, lysogenic and lytic behaviours, efficacy, and mechanisms of bacteriophages’ therapeutic potentials for control and treatment of multidrug-resistant/sensitive bacterial infections are discussed. Isolation, long-term storage and recovery of lytic bacteriophages, bioassays, in vivo and in vitro experiments, and bacteriophage therapy validation are all identified. Holins, endolysins, ectolysins, and bacteriocins are bacteriophage antibacterial enzymes that are specific. Endolysins cause the target bacterium to lyse instantly, and hence their therapeutic potential has been explored in “Endolysin therapy.” Endolysins have a high degree of biochemical variability, with certain lysins having a wider bactericidal function than antibiotics, while their bactericidal activities are far narrower. Bacteriophage recombinant lysins (chimeric streptococcal–staphylococcal constructs) have high specificity for a single bacterial species, killing only that species (lysin (CF-301) is focused to kill methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)), while other lysins have a broader lytic activity, killing several different bacterial species and hence the range of bactericidal activity. New advances in medicine, food safety, agriculture, and biotechnology demonstrate molecular engineering, such as the optimization of endolysins for particular applications. Small molecule antibiotics are replaced by lysins. The chapter discusses the occurrences of lytic phage in pathogenic bacteria in animals and humans, as well as the possible therapeutic effects of endolysins-bacteriophage therapy in vivo and in vitro, demonstrating the utility and efficacy of the therapy. Further developments in the bacteriophage assay, unique molecular-phage therapy, or a cocktail of phage for the control of a broad range of drug-resistant bacteria-host systems can promote non-antibiotic treatment methods as a viable alternative to conventional antibiotic therapy.

Part of the book: Bacteriophages in Therapeutics