Instituto de Productos Lácteos de Asturias (IPLA-CSIC), Paseo Río Linares s/n, 33300 Villaviciosa, Asturias, Spain.
DairySafe Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Av. del Hospital Universitario s/n, 33011 Oviedo, Spain.
Benef Microbes. 2021 Apr 12;12(2):107-120. doi: 10.3920/BM2020.0132. Epub 2021 Apr 1.
In the context of the global antibiotic resistance crisis, bacteriophages are increasingly becoming promising antimicrobial agents against multi-resistant bacteria. Indeed, a huge effort is being made to bring phage-derived products to the market, a process that will also require revising the current regulations in order to facilitate their approval. However, despite the evidence supporting the safety of phages for humans, the general public would still be reluctant to use 'viruses' for therapeutic purposes. In this scenario, we consider that it is important to discuss the role of these microorganisms in the equilibrium of the microbiota and how this relates to human health. To do that, this review starts by examining the role of phages as key players in bacterial communities (including those that naturally inhabit the human body), modulating the species composition and contributing to maintain a 'healthy' . Additionally, in specific situations, e.g. an infectious disease, bacteriophages can be used as target-specific antimicrobials against pathogenic bacteria (phage therapy), while being harmless to the desirable microbiota. Apart from that, incipient research shows the potential application of these viruses to treat diseases caused by bacterial dysbiosis. This latter application would be comparable to the use of probiotics or prebiotics, since bacteriophages can indirectly improve the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract by removing undesirable competitors. On the other hand, possible adverse effects do not appear to be an impediment to promote phage therapy. Nonetheless, it is important to remember their potentially negative impact, mainly concerning their immunogenicity or their potential spread of virulence and antibiotic resistance genes, especially by temperate phages. Overall, we believe that phages should be largely considered beneficial microbes, although it is paramount not to overlook their potential risks.
在全球抗生素耐药性危机的背景下，噬菌体作为对抗多耐药菌的有前途的抗菌剂越来越受到关注。事实上，人们正在努力将噬菌体衍生产品推向市场，这一过程还需要修订现行法规，以促进其批准。然而，尽管有证据表明噬菌体对人类是安全的，但公众仍然不愿意将“病毒”用于治疗目的。在这种情况下，我们认为讨论这些微生物在微生物群落平衡中的作用以及它们与人类健康的关系非常重要。为此，本文首先研究了噬菌体作为细菌群落（包括自然栖息在人体中的细菌）中的关键角色的作用，调节物种组成并有助于维持“健康”的微生物群落。此外，在特定情况下，例如传染病，噬菌体可以作为针对致病菌的靶向性抗菌剂（噬菌体疗法）使用，而对理想的微生物群落无害。除此之外，初步研究表明这些病毒有潜力用于治疗由细菌失调引起的疾病。这种应用类似于使用益生菌或益生元，因为噬菌体可以通过去除不需要的竞争菌来间接促进有益细菌在胃肠道中的生长。另一方面，可能的不良反应似乎并没有成为推广噬菌体疗法的障碍。尽管如此，重要的是要记住它们可能带来的负面影响，主要涉及它们的免疫原性或它们传播毒力和抗生素耐药性基因的潜力，特别是温和噬菌体。总的来说，我们认为噬菌体应该被广泛认为是有益的微生物，尽管不能忽视它们的潜在风险。
