Development of Host Immune Response to Bacteriophage in a Lung Transplant Recipient on Adjunctive Phage Therapy for a Multidrug-Resistant Pneumonia
Jennifer M. Dan, Susan M. Lehman, Rita Al-Kolla, Samuel Penziner, Kamyar Afshar, Gordon Yung, Eugene Golts, Nancy Law, Cathy Logan, Zsuzsanna Kovách, Gill Mearns, Robert T. Schooley, Saima Aslam, Shane Crotty
Abstract
Bacteriophage therapy is the use of viruses to kill bacteria for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections. Little is known about the human immune response following phage therapy. We report the development of phage-specific CD4 T cells alongside rising phage-specific immunoglobulin G and neutralizing antibodies in response to adjunctive bacteriophage therapy used to treat a multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia in a lung transplant recipient. Clinically, treatment was considered a success despite the development phage-specific immune responses.