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Review
. 2024 Oct 18:15:1476041.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1476041. eCollection 2024.

Phage therapy to treat cystic fibrosis Burkholderia cepacia complex lung infections: perspectives and challenges

Jack S Canning  1   2 , Daniel R Laucirica  2 , Kak-Ming Ling  2   3 , Mark P Nicol  4 , Stephen M Stick  2   5   6 , Anthony Kicic  2   5   6
Affiliations
Review

Phage therapy to treat cystic fibrosis Burkholderia cepacia complex lung infections: perspectives and challenges

Jack S Canning et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

Burkholderia cepacia complex is a cause of serious lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis, exhibiting extremely high levels of antimicrobial resistance. These infections are difficult to treat and are associated with high morbidity and mortality. With a notable lack of new antibiotic classes currently in development, exploring alternative antimicrobial strategies for Burkholderia cepacia complex is crucial. One potential alternative seeing renewed interest is the use of bacteriophage (phage) therapy. This review summarises what is currently known about Burkholderia cepacia complex in cystic fibrosis, as well as challenges and insights for using phages to treat Burkholderia cepacia complex lung infections.

Keywords: Burkholderia; antimicrobial resistance; bacteriophage; cystic fibrosis; phage therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Phage life cycles upon infection of a bacterial host. Currently, phages which are obligately lytic are exclusively preferred for therapy. Figure produced with BioRender.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Overcoming challenges to make phage therapy standard practice for BCC lung infections in people with CF. Figure produced with BioRender.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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