Combination of invivo phage therapy data with in silico model highlights key parameters for pneumonia treatment efficacy.

Abstract

The clinical (re)development of bacteriophage (phage) therapy to treat antibiotic-resistant infections faces the challenge of understanding the dynamics of phage-bacteria interactions in the invivo context. Here, we develop a general strategy coupling invitro and invivo experiments with a mathematical model to characterize the interplay between phage and bacteria during pneumonia induced by a pathogenic strain of Escherichia coli. The model allows the estimation of several key parameters for phage therapeutic efficacy. In particular, it quantifies the impact of dose and route of phage administration as well as the synergism of phage and the innate immune response on bacterial clearance. Simulations predict a limited impact of the intrinsic phage characteristics in agreement with the current semi-empirical choices of phages for compassionate treatments. Model-based approaches will foster the deployment of future phage-therapy clinical trials.