title: Development of a Phage Cocktail to Control Proteus mirabilis Catheter-associated Urinary Tract Infections.
abstract: Proteus mirabilis is an enterobacterium that causes catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) due to its ability to colonize and form crystalline biofilms on the catheters surface. CAUTIs are very difficult to treat, since biofilm structures are highly tolerant to antibiotics. Phages have been used widely to control a diversity of bacterial species, however, a limited number of phages for P. mirabilis have been isolated and studied. Here we report the isolation of two novel virulent phages, the podovirus vB_PmiP_5460 and the myovirus vB_PmiM_5461, which are able to target, respectively, 16 of the 26 and all the Proteus strains tested in this study. Both phages have been characterized thoroughly and sequencing data revealed no traces of genes associated with lysogeny. To further evaluate the phages' ability to prevent catheter's colonization by Proteus, the phages adherence to silicone surfaces was assessed. Further tests in phage-coated catheters using a dynamic biofilm model simulating CAUTIs, have shown a significant reduction of P. mirabilis biofilm formation up to 168 h of catheterization. These results highlight the potential usefulness of the two isolated phages for the prevention of surface colonization by this bacterium.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Investigação em Biofilmes Rosário Oliveira, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho Braga Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: Luís D R
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Investigação em Biofilmes Rosário Oliveira, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho Braga Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: Patrícia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Veiga
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Investigação em Biofilmes Rosário Oliveira, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho Braga Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: Nuno
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cerca
authors.affiliation: Departments of Food Science, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Andrew M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kropinski
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Investigação em Biofilmes Rosário Oliveira, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho Braga Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: Carina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Investigação em Biofilmes Rosário Oliveira, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho Braga Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: Joana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Azeredo
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Investigação em Biofilmes Rosário Oliveira, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho Braga Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sillankorva
keywords: Proteus mirabilis; bacteriophage therapy; bacteriophages; biofilms; phage cocktail; urinary tract infection