Abstract

Infectious diseases pose a significant threat to both human and animal populations. Intracellular bacteria are a group of pathogens that invade and survive within the interior of eukaryotic cells, which in turn protect them from antibacterial drugs and the host immune system. Limited penetration of antibacterials into host cells results in insufficient bacterial clearance and treatment failure. Bacteriophages have, over the decades, been proved to play an important role in combating bacterial infections (phage therapy), making them an important alternative to classical antibiotic strategies today. Phages have been found to be effective at killing various species of extracellular bacteria, but little is still known about how phages control intracellular infections. With advances in phage genomics and mechanisms of delivery and cell uptake, the development of phage-based antibacterial strategies to address the treatment of intracellular bacteria has general potential. In this review, we present the current state of knowledge regarding the application of bacteriophages against intracellular bacteria. We cover phage deployment against the most common intracellular pathogens with special attention to therapeutic and preventive strategies.

摘要

传染病对人类和动物种群构成重大威胁。细胞内细菌是一组病原体，它们侵入并在真核细胞内部存活，进而保护它们免受抗菌药物和宿主免疫系统的侵害。抗菌剂对宿主细胞的有限渗透导致细菌清除不足和治疗失败。几十年来，噬菌体已被证明在对抗细菌感染（噬菌体疗法）中发挥重要作用，使其成为当今经典抗生素策略的重要替代品。已发现噬菌体可有效杀死各种细胞外细菌，但对于噬菌体如何控制细胞内感染仍知之甚少。随着噬菌体基因组学以及递送和细胞摄取机制的进步，开发基于噬菌体的抗菌策略来解决细胞内细菌的治疗具有普遍的潜力。在这篇综述中，我们介绍了有关噬菌体对细胞内细菌的应用的当前知识状态。我们涵盖针对最常见的细胞内病原体的噬菌体部署，并特别关注治疗和预防策略。