AUTHOR=Sybesma Wilbert , Zbinden Reinhard , Chanishvili Nino , Kutateladze Mzia , Chkhotua Archil , Ujmajuridze Aleksandre , Mehnert Ulrich , Kessler Thomas M. 

TITLE=Bacteriophages as Potential Treatment for Urinary Tract Infections

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2016.00465

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2016.00465

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most prevalent microbial diseases and their financial burden on society is substantial. The continuing increase of antibiotic resistance worldwide is alarming so that well-tolerated, highly effective therapeutic alternatives are urgently needed.</p><p><bold>Objective:</bold> To investigate the effect of bacteriophages on <italic>Escherichia coli</italic> and <italic>Klebsiella pneumoniae</italic> strains isolated from the urine of patients suffering from UTIs.</p><p><bold>Material and methods:</bold> Forty-one <italic>E. coli</italic> and 9 <italic>K. pneumoniae</italic> strains, isolated from the urine of patients suffering from UTIs, were tested <italic>in vitro</italic> for their susceptibility toward bacteriophages. The bacteriophages originated from either commercially available bacteriophage cocktails registered in Georgia or from the bacteriophage collection of the George Eliava Institute of Bacteriophage, Microbiology and Virology. <italic>In vitro</italic> screening of bacterial strains was performed by use of the spot-test method. The experiments were implemented three times by different groups of scientists.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> The lytic activity of the commercial bacteriophage cocktails on the 41 <italic>E. coli</italic> strains varied between 66% (Pyo bacteriophage) and 93% (Enko bacteriophage). After bacteriophage adaptation of the Pyo bacteriophage cocktail, its lytic activity was increased from 66 to 93% and only one <italic>E. coli</italic> strain remained resistant. One bacteriophage of the Eliava collection could lyse all 9 <italic>K. pneumoniae</italic> strains.</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> Based on the high lytic activity and the potential of resistance optimization by direct adaption of bacteriophages as reported in this study, and in view of the continuing increase of antibiotic resistance worldwide, bacteriophage therapy is a promising treatment option for UTIs highly warranting randomized controlled trials.</p>