Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Commentary
  • Published:

Reinventing phage therapy: are the parts greater than the sum?

Nature Biotechnology volume 24, pages 1508–1511 (2006)Cite this article

Although whole phage continue to generate interest as an alternative to antibiotics, focus is shifting to the use of purified phage components as antibacterial agents.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Steps to bacterial lysis in phage and lysin therapy.

Katie Ris

References

  1. Pennazio, S. Riv. Biol. 99, 103–129 (2006).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Weinbauer, M.G. & Rassoulzadegan, F. Environ. Microbiol. 6, 1–11 (2004).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Suttle, C.A. Nature 437, 356–361 (2005).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Hendrix, R.W. Theor. Popul. Biol. 61, 471–480 (2002).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Sulakvelidze, A., Alavidze, Z. & Morris, J.G., Jr. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 45, 649–659 (2001).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Goodridge, L.D. Trends Biotechnol. 22, 384–385 (2004).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Nakai, T. & Park, S.C. Res. Microbiol. 153, 13–18 (2002).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Park, S.C., Shimamura, I., Fukunaga, M., Mori, K.I. & Nakai, T. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66, 1416–1422 (2000).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Withey, S., Cartmell, E., Avery, L.M. & Stephenson, T. Sci. Total Environ. 339, 1–18 (2005).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Doyle, M.P. & Erickson, M.C. Poult. Sci. 85, 960–973 (2006).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Sheng, H., Knecht, H.J., Kudva, I.T. & Hovde, C.J. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72, 5359–5366 (2006).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Matsuda, T. et al. Surgery 137, 639–646 (2005).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Dabrowska, K., Switala-Jelen, K., Opolski, A., Weber-Dabrowska, B. & Gorski, A. J. Appl. Microbiol. 98, 7–13 (2005).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Merril, C.R. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93, 3188–3192 (1996).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Thiel, K. Nat. Biotechnol. 22, 31–36 (2004).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Westwater, C. et al. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 47, 1301–1307 (2003).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Yacoby, I., Shamis, M., Bar, H., Shabat, D. & Benhar, I. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 50, 2087–2097 (2006).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Irving, M.B., Pan, O. & Scott, J.K. Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol. 5, 314–324 (2001).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Clark, J.R. & March, J.B. FEMS Immunol. Med. Microbiol. 40, 21–26 (2004).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Clark, J.R. & March, J.B. Trends Biotechnol. 24, 212–218 (2006).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Loessner, M.J., Kramer, K., Ebel, F. & Scherer, S. Mol. Microbiol. 44, 335–349 (2002).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Bull, J.J. & Regoes, R.R. Proc. R. Soc. B. 273, 2703–2712 (2006).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Nelson, D., Schuch, R., Chahales, P., Zhu, S. & Fischetti, V.A. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103, 10765–10770 (2006).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Lopez, R., Garcia, E., Garcia, P. & Garcia, J.L. Microb. Drug Resist. 3, 199–211 (1997).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Nelson, D., Loomis, L. & Fischetti, V.A. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98, 4107–4112 (2001).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Loeffler, J.M., Nelson, D. & Fischetti, V.A. Science 294, 2170–2172 (2001).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Cheng, Q., Nelson, D., Zhu, S. & Fischetti, V.A. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 49, 111–117 (2005).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Schuch, R., Nelson, D. & Fischetti, V.A. Nature 418, 884–889 (2002).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Yoong, P., Schuch, R., Nelson, D. & Fischetti, V.A. J. Bacteriol. 188, 2711–2714 (2006).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  30. Loeffler, J.M., Djurkovic, S. & Fischetti, V.A. Infect. Immun. 71, 6199–6204 (2003).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  31. Yoong, P., Schuch, R., Nelson, D. & Fischetti, V.A. J. Bacteriol. 186, 4808–4812 (2004).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  32. Loeffler, J.M. & Fischetti, V.A. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 47, 375–377 (2003).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  33. Entenza, J.M., Loeffler, J.M., Grandgirard, D., Fischetti, V.A. & Moreillon, P. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 49, 4789–4792 (2005).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  34. Balaban, N.Q., Merrin, J., Chait, R., Kowalik, L. & Leibler, S. Science 305, 1622–1625 (2004).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Gaeng, S., Scherer, S., Neve, H. & Loessner, M.J. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66, 2951–2958 (2000).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  36. de Ruyter, P.G., Kuipers, O.P., Meijer, W.C. & de Vos, W.M. Nat. Biotechnol. 15, 976–979 (1997).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Kerr, D.E. et al. Nat. Biotechnol. 19, 66–70 (2001).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Heuer, H., Kroppenstedt, R.M., Lottmann, J., Berg, G. & Smalla, K. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68, 1325–1335 (2002).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  39. Kim, W.S., Salm, H. & Geider, K. Microbiology 150, 2707–2714 (2004).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Bugg, T.D., Lloyd, A.J. & Roper, D.I. Infect. Disord. Drug Targets 6, 85–106 (2006).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Bernhardt, T.G., Wang, I.N., Struck, D.K. & Young, R. Science 292, 2326–2329 (2001).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Liu, J. et al. Nat. Biotechnol. 22, 185–191 (2004).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Projan, S. Nat. Biotechnol. 22, 167–168 (2004).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Bacterial Pathogenesis and Immunology, Rockefeller University, New York, 10021, New York, USA

    Vincent A Fischetti, Daniel Nelson & Raymond Schuch

Authors
  1. Vincent A Fischetti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Daniel Nelson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Raymond Schuch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fischetti, V., Nelson, D. & Schuch, R. Reinventing phage therapy: are the parts greater than the sum?. Nat Biotechnol 24, 1508–1511 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1206-1508

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1206-1508

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing