Impact Assessment of vB_KpnP_K1-ULIP33 Bacteriophage on the Human Gut Microbiota Using a Dynamic In Vitro Model

The use of bacteriophages, shortened as phages, is a promising alternative treatment to fight antimicrobial resistant bacteria. In this context, the effect of the phage vB_KpnP_K1-ULIP33 (ULIP33) on the intestinal microbiota was assessed in the dynamic in vitro model called the SHIME (Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem). The host of this phage is a hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae ST23 and capsular type K1. The phage was inoculated for 7 days in the model and its persistence in the different colons was studied until its disappearance from the system. No significant effect of the phage addition was highlighted regarding the short-chain fatty acid productions, the diversity parameters (α and β) and the qPCR targeting different genera of interest in chronic or acute bowel inflammation. Futher studies are now needed to assess the efficacy of this phage against its bacterial host within the human intestinal ecosystem, but the phage ULIP33 exerted no significant change on the global colonic microbiota.

The project was financially supported by Wallonia in the framework of the call for projects organised by BioWin competitiveness cluster (Project Inteliphages)