A new study suggests that mammalian cells might use bacteriophages to foster cell growth and survival, offering new insights for phage therapy and the study of human health. Bacteriophage particle interacting with mammalian cells. Credit: T2Q and Barr Lab (CC-BY 4.0)
Bacteriophages, also called phages, are viruses that infect and kill bacteria, their natural hosts. But from a macromolecular viewpoint, phages can be can be viewed as nutritionally enriched packets of nucleotides wrapped in an amino A study recently published in the journal PLOS Biology conducted by Jeremy J. Barr and colleagues at Monash University in Victoria, Australia, suggests that mammalian cells may internalize phages to utilize them as a resource to promote cellular growth and survival.
Research on Phage-Mammalian Cell Interactions
Phage interactions with bacteria are well known, and interactions between bacteria and their mammalian host can lead to a range of symbioses. However, the impact of bacteriophages on mammalian cellular and immunological processes is not well understood.
Researcher working with human tissue culture cells that have been treated with bacteriophages to enhance their growth and proliferation. Credit: Barr Lab (CC-BY 4.0)
In order to investigate how mammalian cells’ immune responses interact with and are modulated by interactions with phages, researchers applied the well-studied phage T4 to mammalian cells in vitro and analyzed the cellular responses using luciferase reporter and antibody microarray assays. The phage-free supernatant served as a comparative control.
Findings and Implications
The researchers found that T4 phages did not activate DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002341