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- Construction of a genetically modified T7Select phage system to express the antimicrobial peptide 1018
- David J. Lemon , Matthew K. Kay , James K. Titus , April A. Ford , Wen Chen , LCDR Nicholas J. Hamlin , Yoon Y. Hwang
- J. Microbiol. 2019;57(6):532-538. Published online May 27, 2019
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-019-8686-6
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Abstract
- Bacteriophage therapy was an ascendant technology for combating
bacterial infections before the golden age of antibiotics,
but the therapeutic potential of phages was largely ignored
after the discovery of penicillin. Recently, with antibioticresistant
infections on the rise, these phages are receiving renewed
attention to combat problematic bacterial infections.
Our approach is to enhance bacteriophages with antimicrobial
peptides, short peptides with broad-spectrum antibiotic or
antibiofilm effects. We inserted coding sequences for 1018,
an antimicrobial peptide previously shown to be an effective
broad-spectrum antimicrobial and antibiofilm agent, or the
fluorescent marker mCherry, into the T7Select phage genome.
Transcription and production of 1018 or mCherry began
rapidly after E. coli cultures were infected with genetically modified
phages. mCherry fluorescence, which requires a 90 min
initial maturation period, was observed in infected cultures
after 2 h of infection. Finally, we tested phages expressing 1018
(1018 T7) against bacterial planktonic cultures and biofilms,
and found the 1018 T7 phage was more effective than the
unmodified T7Select phage at both killing planktonic cells and
eradicating established biofilms, validating our phage-driven
antimicrobial peptide expression system. The combination
of narrow-spectrum phages delivering relatively high local
doses of broad-spectrum antimicrobials could be a powerful
method
to combat resistant infections. The experiments we describe prove this combination is feasible in vitro, but further testing and optimization are required before genetically modified phages are ready for use in vivo.
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