Therapy Potential of Tailless Bacteriophage ΦHN161 and its Ability in Modulating Inflammation Caused by Bacterial Disease

Abstract

Almost all the phages reported were long-tail or short-tail, belong to the Myoviridae or
Podoviridae phage families, little information was available on tailless bacteriophages and their
biological significance in therapy. Tailless bacteriophage φHN161 in this study was isolated
from sewage water samples. This representative phage displayed a strong ability in eliminating
pathogenic Escherichia coli O161. Mice challenged with E. coli O161 were treated with
different doses of phage φHN161 for comparing sterilization rate and immunological reaction
with those untreated mice in control group. Phage of higher dose was much more effective than
of lower dose in eliminating host cells both in vitro and in vivo, while a lower dose of phage
treatment could drastically reduce inflammation caused by E. coli O161 infection. Altogether,
these observations expanded the diversity of phages that could be utilized as antimicrobial
agents substitute in animals; these findings also reminded people to pay attention to the dosage
of bacteriophages used in therapy.