Abstract
Phage therapy is a promising antibacterial strategy for resistant respiratory tract infections. Phage inhalation may serve this goal; however, it requires a careful assessment of their delivery by this approach. Here we present an in-vitro model to evaluate phage inhalation. Eight phages, most of which target cystic fibrosis (CF)-common pathogens, were aerosolized by jet nebulizer and administered to a real-scale computed tomography (CT)-derived 3D airways model with a breathing simulator. Viable phage loads reaching the output of the nebulizer and the tracheal level of the model were determined and compared to the loaded amount. Phage inhalation resulted in a diverse range of titer reduction, primarily associated with the nebulization process. No correlation was found between phage delivery to the phage physical or genomic dimensions. These findings highlight the need for tailored simulations of phage delivery, ideally by a patient-specific model in addition to proper phage matching, to increase the potential of phage therapy success.
Footnotes
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Conflict of interests: The authors of "Simulating Phage Inhalation for Respiratory Tract Infections" by Ben Porat and Gelman et al. declare no conflict of interest.
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- Received May 30, 2021.
- Accepted August 4, 2021.
- Copyright ©The authors 2021
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