Chemical inhibition of a bacterial immune system
The rise of antibiotic resistance motivates a revived interest in phage therapy. However, bacteria possess dozens of anti-phage immune systems that confer resistance to therapeutic phages. Chemical inhibitors of these anti-phage immune systems could be employed as adjuvants to overcome resistance in phagebased therapies. Here, we report a class of chemical inhibitors that selectively inhibit type II Thoeris antiphage immune systems from diverse bacteria-including antibiotic-resistant pathogens, thereby sensitizing phage-resistant bacteria to phages. These inhibitors block the biosynthesis of a histidine-ADPR intracellular "alarm"signal by ThsB, thereby preventing ThsA from arresting phage replication. Chemical inhibition of the Thoeris defense improves the efficacy of a model phage therapy against a phage-resistant clinical isolate of P. aeruginosa in a mouse infection, suggesting a therapeutic potential. These findings demonstrate that the selective inhibition of anti-phage defense systems can improve the efficacy of therapeutic phages, suggesting a strategy to circumvent phage-therapy resistance.
10.1016_j.chom.2026.01.003.pdf
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