AUTHOR=Hua Yunfen , Luo Tingting , Yang Yiqi , Dong Dong , Wang Rui , Wang Yanjun , Xu Mengsha , Guo Xiaokui , Hu Fupin , He Ping 

TITLE=Phage Therapy as a Promising New Treatment for Lung Infection Caused by Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in Mice

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.02659

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2017.02659

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Carbapenem-resistant <italic>Acinetobacter baumannii</italic> (CRAB) which is noted as a major pathogen associated with healthcare-associated infections has steadily developed beyond antibiotic control. Lytic bacteriophages with the characteristics of infecting and lysing specific bacteria have been used as a potential alternative to traditional antibiotics to solve multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. Here, we isolated <italic>A. baumannii</italic>-specific lytic phages and evaluated their potential therapeutic effect against lung infection caused by CRAB clinical strains. The combined lysis spectrum of four lytic phages’ ranges was 87.5% (42 of 48) against CRAB clinical isolates. Genome sequence and analysis indicated that phage SH-Ab15519 is a novel phage which does not contain the virulence or antibiotic resistance genes. <italic>In vivo</italic> study indicated that phage SH-Ab15519 administered intranasally can effectively rescue mice from lethal <italic>A. baumannii</italic> lung infection without deleterious side effects. Our work explores the potential use of phages as an alternative therapeutic agent against the lung infection caused by CRAB strains.</p>