Antibody Production in Response to Staphylococcal MS-1 Phage Cocktail in Patients Undergoing Phage Therapy.
In this study, we investigated the humoral immune response (through the release of IgG, IgA, and IgM antiphage antibodies) to a staphylococcal phage cocktail in patients undergoing experimental phage therapy at the Phage Therapy Unit, Medical Center of the Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy in Wrocław, Poland. We also evaluated whether occurring antiphage antibodies had neutralizing properties toward applied phages (K rate). Among 20 examined patients receiving the MS-1 phage cocktail orally and/or locally, the majority did not show a noticeably higher level of antiphage antibodies in their sera during phage administration. Even in those individual cases with an increased immune response, mostly by induction of IgG and IgM, the presence of antiphage antibodies did not translate into unsatisfactory clinical results of phage therapy. On the other hand, a negative outcome of the treatment occurred in some patients who showed relatively weak production of antiphage antibodies before and during treatment. This may imply that possible induction of antiphage antibodies is not an obstacle to the implementation of phage therapy and support our assumption that the outcome of the phage treatment does not primarily depend on the appearance of antiphage antibodies in sera of patients during therapy. These conclusions are in line with our previous findings. The confirmation of this thesis is of great interest as regards the efficacy of phage therapy in humans.
Bacteriophage Laboratory, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences Wrocław, Poland.
Maciej
M
Żaczek
Bacteriophage Laboratory, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences Wrocław, Poland.
Marzanna
M
Łusiak-Szelachowska
Bacteriophage Laboratory, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences Wrocław, Poland.
Ewa
E
Jończyk-Matysiak
Bacteriophage Laboratory, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of SciencesWrocław, Poland; Phage Therapy Unit, Medical Center of the Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of SciencesWrocław, Poland.
Beata
B
Weber-Dąbrowska
Bacteriophage Laboratory, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of SciencesWrocław, Poland; Phage Therapy Unit, Medical Center of the Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of SciencesWrocław, Poland; Department of Clinical Immunology, Transplantation Institute, Medical University of WarsawWarsaw, Poland.
Ryszard
R
Międzybrodzki
Bacteriophage Laboratory, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences Wrocław, Poland.
Barbara
B
Owczarek
Bacteriophage Laboratory, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences Wrocław, Poland.
Agnieszka
A
Kopciuch
Bacteriophage Laboratory, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of SciencesWrocław, Poland; Phage Therapy Unit, Medical Center of the Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of SciencesWrocław, Poland.
Wojciech
W
Fortuna
Phage Therapy Unit, Medical Center of the Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences Wrocław, Poland.
Paweł
P
Rogóż
Bacteriophage Laboratory, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of SciencesWrocław, Poland; Phage Therapy Unit, Medical Center of the Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of SciencesWrocław, Poland; Department of Clinical Immunology, Transplantation Institute, Medical University of WarsawWarsaw, Poland.
Andrzej
A
Górski
ELISA; Staphylococcal Infections; antibodies; antimicrobials; immune response; phage cocktail; phage therapy