Therapeutic antibiotic use Some experiments suggest that
Autographivirales bacteriophages show promise in regulating and stifling the growth of infectious bacteria, like
Klebsiella pneumoniae, in humans. Infectious bacteria like
K. pneumoniae have increasingly become more resistant to traditional antibiotics. Some bacteria are even resistant to multiple antibiotics and antibacterial drugs. This problem prompted researchers to look towards other possible regulators of bacterial growth, like
Autographivirales bacteriophages. For the past two decades, studying phage therapy has grown in popularity with major research centers opening up in the United States, Poland, Georgia, and Belgium. In turn, many biotechnology companies have shifted their focus to phage therapy, with some like
Armata Pharmaceuticals completely dedicating themselves to combating the problem of antibiotic resistance.
Autographivirales has also been used in combination with existing antibiotics to effective results. A recent study showed that
Autographivirales combined with antibiotic medication
Tigecycline can effectively combat skin and soft tissue infections associated with
Acinetobacter baumannii, a bacterium that previously showed resistance to multiple drugs. However, phage therapy does pose some potential drawbacks. Antibiotics work by targeting a key part bacterial structure or by impeding a bacterial metabolic function. Because many bacteria have similar metabolic processes and physical structures, an antibiotic could be effective against many different bacteria. Phages on the other hand are much more specific to a single bacteria. This means that scientists would have to put in more work to perfect a phage therapy that only works against one bacteria. Also, some clinical studies involving phage therapy have resulted in low to moderate efficacy rates and in a huge variation of results for different patients.
Autographivirales and other lytic phages lyse host bacteria through a process that begins with
adsorption. Once
Autographivirales is adsorbed on the cell surface of the host bacteria, the enzyme located in its tail structure can penetrate the host bacteria's peptidoglycan layer and inner membrane, where it releases genetic material into the interior of the bacteria. When the phage genetic material is integrated with the bacterial host genes, it will replicate to form a new progeny phage with bacteriolytic ability. The infected bacteria are finally lysed and the progeny phages released post-lysis continue to proliferate and lyse surrounding host bacteria.
Autographivirales in phage cocktail formulation "Phage cocktails" are a form of phage therapy that involves employing at least two phages to target a single bacterial strain, creating a form of therapy with greater 'depth.' Phage cocktails are an effective substitute for antibiotics as they create a broader host range and delay the development of phage resistance in bacteria. Phage cocktails are most commonly used to combat infections caused by
Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
Klebsiella pneumoniae, and
Escherichia coli. Clinical practices have employed phage cocktails to prevent bacterial biofilm formation, which is one of the greatest challenges in the healthcare industry. A recent study showed that formulated phage cocktails that included
Autographivirales under the now-abolished family classification
Podoviridae, effectively reduced the growth of
Klebsiella pneumoniae. ==Etymology==