Islam Md Sharifull, Fan Jie, Suzauddula Md, Nime Ishatur, Pan Fan
Center for Cancer Immunology, Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medicine, Henan University of Science and Technology, 263 Kaiyuan Avenue, Luoyang 471023, China.
Biomedicines. 2024 Sep 6;12(9):2036. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines12092036.
O157:H7 is a recognized food-borne pathogen causing severe food poisoning at low doses. Bacteriophages (phages) are FDA-approved for use in food and are suggested as natural preservatives against specific pathogens. A novel phage must be identified and studied to develop a new natural preservative or antimicrobial agent against O157:H7. The phage SPEC13 displayed broad host range and was classified within the family based on its observed characteristics by a TEM and genome analysis. In 10 min, this phage achieves a remarkable 93% adsorption rate with the host. Its latency period then lasts about 20 min, after which it bursts, releasing an average of 139 ± 3 PFU/cell. It exhibited robustness within a pH range of 4 to 12, indicating resilience under diverse environmental circumstances. Furthermore, SPEC13 demonstrated stability at an ambient temperature up to 60 °C. A whole genome and phylogenetics analysis revealed that SPEC13 is a novel identified phage, lacking a lysogenic life cycle, antibiotic resistance genes, or genes associated with virulence, thereby presenting a promising biological agent for therapeutic application. Animal studies showed that SPEC13 effectively controlled the growth of harmful bacteria, resulting in a significant improvement in colon health, marked by reduced swelling (edema) and tissue damage (mucosal injury). The introduction of SPEC13 resulted in a substantial decrease in quantities of O157:H7, reducing the bacterial load to approximately 5 log CFU/g of feces. In conclusion, SPEC13 emerges as a promising inclusion in the array of phage therapy, offering a targeted and efficient approach for addressing bacterial infections.
O157:H7是一种公认的食源性病原体,低剂量就能导致严重食物中毒。噬菌体已获美国食品药品监督管理局(FDA)批准可用于食品,被建议作为针对特定病原体的天然防腐剂。必须鉴定并研究一种新型噬菌体,以开发针对O157:H7的新型天然防腐剂或抗菌剂。噬菌体SPEC13表现出广泛的宿主范围,并根据透射电子显微镜(TEM)观察到的特征和基因组分析被归类于该家族。在10分钟内,这种噬菌体对宿主的吸附率高达93%。其潜伏期约为20分钟,之后噬菌体破裂,平均每个细胞释放139±3个噬菌斑形成单位(PFU)。它在pH值4至12的范围内表现出稳健性,表示在不同环境条件下具有恢复能力。此外,SPEC13在高达60°C的环境温度下表现出稳定性。全基因组和系统发育分析表明,SPEC13是一种新鉴定的噬菌体,缺乏溶原性生活周期、抗生素抗性基因或与毒力相关的基因,因此是一种有前景的治疗应用生物制剂。动物研究表明,SPEC13有效地控制了有害细菌的生长,使结肠健康状况显著改善,表现为肿胀(水肿)减轻和组织损伤(粘膜损伤)。引入SPEC13后,O157:H7的数量大幅减少,细菌载量降至约5 log CFU/g粪便。总之,SPEC13有望成为噬菌体治疗手段中的一员,为解决细菌感染提供一种有针对性且高效的方法。