The high efficiency protective effectiveness of a newly isolated myoviruses bacteriophage vB_AceP_PAc in protecting mice from Aeromonas caviae infection in mice.

Abstract

Phage therapy is an effective strategy to combat multidrug resistance in bacteria and has been increasingly utilized to protect animals from bacterial infections. This study involved the isolation and purification of a novel myoviruses phage, vB_AceP_PAc, from a drug-resistant bacterial strain Aeromonas caviae. Genome sequence analysis based on nucleotide sequences revealed that vB_AceP_PAc shared significant similarity with the genomes of 10 other Aeromonas phages, with the highest coverage rate of 52% with phiA047. Intraperitoneal injection of 1 × 10⁷ CFU/mL (100 µL/mouse) A. caviae AC-CY resulted in diarrhea in mice three days later. At this time, oral administration of 1 × 10⁹ PFU/mL (100 µL/mouse) vB_AceP_PAc effectively alleviated the diarrhea induced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in the mice. Furthermore, oral administration of 1 × 10⁹ PFU/ml vB_AceP_PAc (100 µl/mouse) in healthy mice significantly reduced inflammatory cytokine levels, increased tight junction molecule levels, and improved intestinal barrier function. Moreover, the consumption of vB_AceP_PAc by health mice led to a significant increase in the abundance of Lactobacillaceae in the gut, while the expression of CD3⁺CD4⁺/CD3⁺CD8⁺ was minimally affected. Overall, the findings of this study confirmed the promising potential of bacteriophage vB_AceP_PAc in treating diarrhea caused by A. caviae.