Infected burn wound healing using Hydroxy-propyl-methyl cellulose gel containing bacteriophages against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae

Meysam  Adibi; Kazem  Javanmardi; Noor Al-Huda  Ali A.H. Saeed; Mohammad Ali  Mobasher; Javad  Jokar; Abdolmajid  Ghasemian; Niloofar  Rahimian; Ava Soltani  Hekmat

doi:10.18502/ijm.v17i1.17803

Meysam Adibi Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
Kazem Javanmardi Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
Noor Al-Huda Ali A.H. Saeed Department of Biology, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
Mohammad Ali Mobasher Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
Javad Jokar Department of Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
Abdolmajid Ghasemian Noncommunicable Diseases Research Center, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
Niloofar Rahimian Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
Ava Soltani Hekmat Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijm.v17i1.17803

Keywords: Bacteriophages; Antibiotic resistance; Hydroxy-propyl-methyl cellulose

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) are the two leading bacterial strains involved in wound infections. These bacteria have developed broad resistance to antibi- otics, which has complicated their eradication. Additionally, the formation of a polymicrobial infection poses additional problems. Among alternative or complementary options, bacteriophages, viruses that parasitize bacterial hosts, have been promising.

Materials and Methods: In this research work, bacteriophages' therapeutic effects against P. aeruginosa- and K. pneumo- niae-infected burn wounds were studied. The infectious burn wound model was performed on Balb/C male mice, aged six weeks and weighing 25 ± 5 gr. The effects of the Hydroxy-propyl-methyl cellulose (HPMC) gel containing phage were inves- tigated compared to gentamicin. All of these actions were performed in separate groups for each bacteria and mixed group of bacteria (to test multi-bacterial infections treating) and the result were compared.

Results: Phages appear to be effective in gel forms. Pathologic samples of different groups confirmed therapeutic results of phages. These results at the microscopic level indicated the recovery of the tissue and the removal of the infection. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that lytic phages are powerful biological tools for the treatment of bacterial infections in burn wounds, which can be considered as one of the alternatives for drug-resistant bacterial species and the high costs of antibiotics; though further animal and trial studies are needed. Meanwhile, the complications due to their widespread use in humans should be investigated in more details.