Abstract

THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF MANGROVE-DERIVED BACTERIOPHAGES ON BIOFILM FORMING BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM MICE BEARING LUNG-CANCER

Anandhan Sekar*, Ravinder Singh Chinnappan and Kathiresan Kandasamy

Abstract

Therapeutic potential of phages was examined against biofilm forming bacteria (BFB) Pseudomonas stutzeri (PS) and Vibrio parahaemolyticus (VPH) in lung cancer animals. Phages were isolated from mangrove soil. The latent period of the infectious cycle was determined as 20 and 55 min for PS and VPH phages respectively. The mean burst size was found to be 102 and 156 pfu per bacterial cell respectively. The disruption of bacterial cell membrane with respect to incubation time was visualized by Epi-Fluorescence microscopy (EFM). In vitro biofilms clearance study showed the biofilm removal due to phage activity varied between 23 and 92%. Toxicity study proved that the injected phages showed no toxicity in mice. Survival and stability of PS and VPH phages were measured in animals after i.p. and i.v. injection. And the phage count was measured in blood and lungs tissues and the maximum phage counts in lungs and blood were obtained 6 h of post injection. Route of i.v. injection provided the most significant (87%) protection. In phagetreated animal groups, as compared with untreated control groups, there was a signification reduction in biofilm forming bacteria (BFB) in mice bearing lung cancer. Mice intravenously injected with PS and VPH phages in addition to BFB had a much lower death rate than mice administered with BFB alone. Treatment of mice with PS and VPH phages proved to be effective as measured by reduction in cfu and body temperature and histopathologic analysis. These results demonstrated that bacteriophages had therapeutic potential for both localized and systemic infections caused by bacterial pathogens in animals.

Keywords: Bacteriophages, Biofilm forming bacteria, Mangroves, Phage therapy.