Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Research Center for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS), Advanced Functional Materials & Optoelectronic Laboratory (AFMOL), Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2021 May 31;11:635597. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.635597. eCollection 2021.
Antibiotic resistance is exuberantly becoming a deleterious health problem world-wide. Seeking innovative approaches is necessary in order to circumvent such a hazard. An unconventional fill-in to antibiotics is bacteriophage. Bacteriophages are viruses capable of pervading bacterial cells and disrupting their natural activity, ultimately resulting in their defeat. In this article, we will run-through the historical record of bacteriophage and its correlation with bacteria. We will also delineate the potential of bacteriophage as a therapeutic antibacterial agent, its supremacy over antibiotics in multiple aspects and the challenges that could arise on the way to its utilization in reality. Pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and genetic engineering of bacteriophages and its proteins will be briefly discussed as well. In addition, we will highlight some of the in-use applications of bacteriophages, and set an outlook for their future ones. We will also overview some of the miscellaneous abilities of these tiny viruses in several fields other than the clinical one. This is an attempt to encourage tackling a long-forgotten hive. Perhaps, one day, the smallest of the creatures would be of the greatest help.
抗生素耐药性在全球范围内迅速成为一个有害的健康问题。为了规避这种危险,有必要寻求创新的方法。一种非常规的抗生素替代品是噬菌体。噬菌体是能够穿透细菌细胞并破坏其自然活动的病毒,最终导致其被击败。在本文中,我们将回顾噬菌体的历史记录及其与细菌的相关性。我们还将阐述噬菌体作为一种治疗性抗菌剂的潜力,它在多个方面优于抗生素,以及在实际应用中可能出现的挑战。噬菌体及其蛋白质的药效学、药代动力学和基因工程也将进行简要讨论。此外,我们将重点介绍噬菌体的一些实际应用,并对其未来的应用进行展望。我们还将概述这些微小病毒在临床以外的几个领域的其他多种能力。这是鼓励解决一个被遗忘已久的难题的尝试。也许有一天,这些最小的生物会提供最大的帮助。