Cell Sub-Journal: Using viruses to fight bacteria and reduce the use of antibiotics

A new study takes another step forward in the use of viruses to fight bacterial infections, reducing the threat of antibiotic resistance

More and more infections, including pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhea, and salmonellosis, are developing antibiotic resistance, which means they are becoming more difficult to treat, leading to higher mortality, longer hospital stays and higher Cost

Phage therapy is the concept of using viruses that are harmless to the human body (called bacteriophages) to kill bacteria

The new study published by the University of Exeter in the journal Cell Host Microorganisms provides new ideas on how to best combine antibiotics and phage therapy

Viruses infect bacteria through molecules on the cell surface

However, bacteria have a second defense method

In this study, four of the eight antibiotics tested resulted in a significant increase in CRISPR-based immunity

Professor Edze Westra from the University of Exeter said; “Antibiotic resistance is a major public health problem and we need to take urgent action quickly

Phage therapy was first used in 1919, when Paris microbiologist Félix d'Hérelle injected a 12-year-old boy with a phage cocktail, which apparently cured his severe dysentery

Now, as part of the solution to reduce antibiotic resistance, research is gaining momentum again

Researchers have shown that the effect of antibacterial antibiotics that triggers CRISPR-Cas immunity is due to the slowdown of intracellular phage replication, which provides more time for the CRISPR-Cas system to gain immunity and clear phage infections

Dr.

This research was funded by a grant from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme

Article title

Bacteriostatic antibiotics promote CRISPR-Cas adaptive immunity by enabling increased spacer acquisition