AUTHOR=Weber-Dąbrowska Beata , Jończyk-Matysiak Ewa , Żaczek Maciej , Łobocka Małgorzata , Łusiak-Szelachowska Marzanna , Górski Andrzej TITLE=Bacteriophage Procurement for Therapeutic Purposes JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology VOLUME=7 YEAR=2016 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01177 DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2016.01177 ISSN=1664-302X ABSTRACT=

Bacteriophages (phages), discovered 100 years ago, are able to infect and destroy only bacterial cells. In the current crisis of antibiotic efficacy, phage therapy is considered as a supplementary or even alternative therapeutic approach. Evolution of multidrug-resistant and pandrug-resistant bacterial strains poses a real threat, so it is extremely important to have the possibility to isolate new phages for therapeutic purposes. Our phage laboratory and therapy center has extensive experience with phage isolation, characterization, and therapeutic application. In this article we present current progress in bacteriophages isolation and use for therapeutic purposes, our experience in this field and its practical implications for phage therapy. We attempt to summarize the state of the art: properties of phages, the methods for their isolation, criteria of phage selection for therapeutic purposes and limitations of their use. Perspectives for the use of genetically engineered phages to specifically target bacterial virulence-associated genes are also briefly presented.