Bacterial Assassins: From trying not to die to nanotechnology...

So, what seems to be the problem?? Cholera? Staph infection? E. coli infection? ... Ok. Take two of these once a day, and call me if they don't work in a week. Nothing you say? Ok. Take three of these today, two of these tomorrow, four of the blue ones, six of the red ones, and wait a week. If that doesn't work, drink this, inject that, and take five more of these. As a last resort we may have to operate and remove the infected limb, or worst case scenario, you may want to get right with God...

This dialogue can't seem too far fetched can it? We have all been victims of the medical guessing games that are required to effectively treat harmful bacterial infections. You may start with a one week prescription of a mild antibiotic only to find that it didn't work to clear up the infection, which ultimately could end in hospitalization, or even death. So, the problem is, how do we treat a bacterial infection effectively, especially one such as the recently rampant MRSA, which has developed numerous antibiotic resistances. The answer is, we send in the big guns...

Except that the biggest of the "big guns", the T4 bacteriophage, is only about 200 nm long and 100 nm wide. But, don't let their size fool you. These viruses are microscopic powerhouses that are able to infect, inject, and destroy very specific host bacterial cells by adsorbing to receptor proteins surrounding the cellular membrane and inserting, or injecting their genetic information into the cell. The phage then rely on the cellular energy of the host to make and process new proteins and genetic information that will be packaged into new phage progeny. The final step to infection is the lysis, or "popping" of the host cell, in order for the progeny to be released and infect more cells. There is potentially endless variety of naturally occurring strains, as well as the possibilities to engineer designer strains with modified receptors which would allow for more diverse host ranges. The bottom line, so it seems, is that if there is a cell, it can be infected by something, and it has become very clear that we are getting closer to being able to selectively infect cells for a variety of purposes.

The medical advantages of these delicate little killers are immense, aside from a few minor setbacks. The biggest is the idea of trying to convince the general public to "dose" themselves with a biological organism, i.e. a virus, and also to convince governmental agencies of the tremendous benefits and scientific progressions that could be achieved if these organisms were brought to the forefront of scientific research, and to ultimately provide adequate funding for their research. Bacteriophage have already proven to be effective against Cholera, E. coli, K. pnemoniae, acne, staph infection, and many other medical annoyances which are constantly developing resistances to the methods and medications we are using. Now, calm down if you are getting too excited about this news because the worlds largest proponent of phage therapy is located in Tbilisi, Georgia. Not exactly next to Atlanta, but a bit closer to Russia!!! So, travel may be a bit of a hurdle when seeking therapy of this sort...

Oh, and did I mention that after the proteins are processed inside the cell, they assemble automatically in a very exacting, ordered structure, and we are able to genetically modify these proteins with insertions and deletions? Now, I don't want to give away all of the surprises, but can you say nanotechnology and gene therapy???