Publication Date
1-2-2024
Journal
Virus Research
DOI
10.1016/j.virusres.2023.199272
PMID
37981215
PMCID
PMC10730860
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
11-30-2023
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Published Open-Access
yes
Keywords
Prophages, Bacteriophages, Recombination, Genetic, Host Specificity, Bacteriophage, Acinetobacter baumannii, Phage therapy, Host range expansion, Appelmans protocol, Prophage induction
Abstract
Infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) present significant healthcare challenges due to limited treatment options. Bacteriophage (phage) therapy offers potential as an alternative treatment. However, the high host specificity of phages poses challenges for their therapeutic application. To broaden the phage spectrum, laboratory-based phage training using the Appelmans protocol was employed in this study. As a result, the protocol successfully expanded the host range of a phage cocktail targeting CRAB. Further analysis revealed that the expanded host range phages isolated from the output cocktail were identified as recombinant derivatives originating from prophages induced from encountered bacterial strains. These findings provide valuable genetic insights into the protocol's mechanism when applied to phages infecting A. baumannii strains that have never been investigated before. However, it is noteworthy that the expanded host range phages obtained from this protocol exhibited limited stability, raising concerns about their suitability for therapeutic purposes.
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