A Multiwell-Plate Caenorhabditis elegans Assay for Assessing the Therapeutic Potential of Bacteriophages against Clinical Pathogens
Prasanth Manohar, Belinda Loh, Namasivayam Elangovan, Archana Loganathan, Ramesh Nachimuthu, Sebastián Leptihn
Abstract
Validating the efficacy and safety of phages prior to clinical application is crucial to see phage therapy in practice. Current animal models include mice and insect larvae, which pose ethical or technical challenges. This study examined the use of the nematode model organism C. elegans as a quick, reliable, and simple alternative for testing phages. The data show that all the four tested bacteriophages can eliminate bacterial pathogens and protect the nematode from infections. Survival rates of the nematodes increased from <20% in the infection group to >90% in the phage treatment group. Even the nematodes with poly-microbial infections recovered during phage cocktail treatment. The use of C. elegans as a simple whole-animal infection model is a rapid and robust way to study the efficacy of phages before testing them on more complex model animals such as mice.