Bacteriophage Ent-FAP-4 Targeting Enterococcus faecium
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Solution Overview
Problem
Enterococcus faecium infections are challenging due to high antibiotic resistance, necessitating a specific and effective antibacterial agent that can target this bacterium without affecting commensal bacteria, as conventional antibiotics often cause environmental pollution and disrupt normal flora.
Innovation Solution
A pharmaceutical composition containing the Siphoviridae bacteriophage Ent-FAP-4, isolated from nature and specifically effective against Enterococcus faecium, is developed, which acts as a targeted antibacterial agent, preventing or treating infections by infecting and killing Enterococcus faecium without harming other bacteria.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional antibiotics are used to treat Enterococcus faecium infections, then antibacterial effect is achieved, but antibiotic resistance develops and normal flora is disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by using a specific bacteriophage that targets only Enterococcus faecium, dividing the antibacterial action into a specialized component that acts selectively on the pathogen without affecting other bacteria, thus avoiding disruption of normal flora and reducing selection pressure for antibiotic resistance
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses bacteriophage Ent-FAP-4 as an intermediary agent between the treatment goal and the pathogen. This biological mediator infects and kills Enterococcus faecium through its natural lytic cycle, providing antibacterial effect without the harmful side effects of conventional antibiotics
2Productivity
If conventional antibiotics are used to treat Enterococcus faecium infections, then bacterial proliferation is inhibited, but environmental pollution and side effects occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a treatment with highly specific activity localized to Enterococcus faecium. The bacteriophage Ent-FAP-4 has receptors and infection mechanisms tailored to this specific pathogen, providing targeted antibacterial action that eliminates the pathogen while leaving other bacteria and the environment unaffected
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the natural lytic behavior of bacteriophages, which was previously considered a limitation due to host specificity, into a benefit by using this specificity to achieve targeted therapy that avoids environmental pollution and side effects associated with broad-spectrum antibiotics
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The bacteriophage Ent-FAP-4 composition demonstrates high specificity and efficacy in preventing or treating Enterococcus faecium infections, reducing the risk of side effects on commensal bacteria and offering a promising alternative to conventional antibiotics.
Implementation Method 1
Once a bacteriophage infects a bacterium, the bacteriophage is proliferated inside the bacterial cell. After proliferation, the progeny of the bacteriophage destroy the bacterial cell wall and escape from the host bacteria, demonstrating that the bacteriophage has the ability to kill bacteria.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to Siphoviridae bacteriophage Ent-FAP-4 (accession number KCTC 12854BP), separated from nature, which is capable of specifically killing Enterococcus faecium and has a genome expressed by sequence number 1, a pharmaceutical composition, which comprises same as an active ingredient, and a method for preventing or treating diseases, induced by Enterococcus faecium, by administering the pharmaceutical composition.