噬菌体治疗的研究历程和发展方向

History and development of phage therapy

噬菌体为能感染和杀灭细菌的病毒。作为天然抗菌物质,噬菌体自发现伊始,便被认为可用于治疗和预防细菌感染,即噬菌体治疗。噬菌体生物学知识的匮乏和抗生素黄金时代的到来,使得西方医学界逐渐摒弃了噬菌体治疗。近年来,面对全球范围内日益严峻的细菌耐药性威胁,科学界开始重新审视和评估噬菌体的治疗价值。本文就噬菌体的发现、噬菌体治疗的研究历程以及发展方向作一综述。

Bacteriophages （phages） are viruses able to infect and kill the bacteria hosts. As the natural antimicrobial agents, their potential as therapeutics for the prevention and the treatment of bacterial infections, also known as phage therapy, has been recognized almost immediately since their discovery. Lack of knowledge on the biology of phages combined with the advent of the gold era of antibiotics resulted in the disregard of phage therapy in the western medicine. Recently, the growing threats posed by worldwide antimicrobial resistance renewed scientists＇ interest to re-evaluate the therapeutic value of phages. This paper reviews the discovery of phages, the history of phage therapy as well as its future development.