Exploiting lung adaptation and phage steering to clear pan-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in vivo

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major nosocomial pathogen that causes severe disease including sepsis. Carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa is recognised by the World Health Organisation as a priority 1 pathogen, with urgent need for new therapeutics. As such, there is renewed interest in using bacteriophages as a therapeutic. However, the dynamics of treating pan-resistant P. aeruginosa with phage in vivo are poorly understood. Using a pan-resistant P. aeruginosa in vivo infection model, phage therapy displays strong therapeutic potential, clearing infection from the lung, kidneys, and spleen. Remaining bacteria in the liver undergo phage resistance due to limiting phage adsorption. Yet, resistance to phage results in re-sensitisation to a wide range of antibiotics. In this work, we use phage steering in vivo, re-opening a pan-resistant P. aeruginosa infection with a phage cocktail to re-sensitise bacteria to antibiotics, clearing the infection from all organs.

Eleri A. Ashworth, Rosanna C. T. Wright, Rebecca K. Shears, Janet K. L. Wong, Akram Hassan, James P. J. Hall, Aras Kadioglu, Joanne L. Fothergill