mGem: Immune recognition and clearance of bacteriophages—implications for phage therapy

Bacteriophages (phages) hold significant promise as targeted antibacterial therapies in the era of rising multidrug-resistant infections. Despite their therapeutic potential, the clinical application of phages for human infections has been significantly hindered by the rapid and robust immune response to phages in blood. The rapid clearance of >99% of phages from circulation within hours of injection is the result of innate and adaptive immune responses that target therapeutic phage for clearance and destruction. Methodologies must be developed to isolate and/or modify phages that are not only therapeutically potent but also immunologically camouflaged. The resulting second- and third-generation phage therapies will be more effective by evading host immune responses, enabling more efficient targeting of bacterial pathogens.