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Żaczek M, Górski A, Weber-Dąbrowska B, Letkiewicz S, Fortuna W, Rogóż P, Pasternak E, Międzybrodzki R. A Thorough Synthesis of Phage Therapy Unit Activity in Poland-Its History, Milestones and International Recognition. Viruses 2022; 14:1170. [PMID: 35746642 PMCID: PMC9227841 DOI: 10.3390/v14061170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The year 2020 marked 15 years of the Phage Therapy Unit in Poland, the inception of which took place just one year after Poland's accession to the European Union (2004). At first sight, it is hard to find any connection between these two events, but in fact joining the European Union entailed the need to adapt the regulatory provisions concerning experimental treatment in humans to those that were in force in the European Union. These changes were a solid foundation for the first phage therapy center in the European Union to start its activity. As the number of centers conducting phage therapy in Europe and in the world constantly and rapidly grows, we want to grasp the opportunity to take a closer look at the over 15-year operation of our site by analyzing its origins, legal aspects at the local and international levels and the impressive number and diversity of cases that have been investigated and treated during this time. This article is a continuation of our work published in 2020 summarizing a 100-year history of the development of phage research in Poland.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maciej Żaczek
- Bacteriophage Laboratory, Department of Phage Therapy, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (A.G.); (B.W.-D.); (E.P.); (R.M.)
| | - Andrzej Górski
- Bacteriophage Laboratory, Department of Phage Therapy, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (A.G.); (B.W.-D.); (E.P.); (R.M.)
- Phage Therapy Unit, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (S.L.); (W.F.); (P.R.)
- Infant Jesus Teaching Hospital, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-005 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Beata Weber-Dąbrowska
- Bacteriophage Laboratory, Department of Phage Therapy, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (A.G.); (B.W.-D.); (E.P.); (R.M.)
- Phage Therapy Unit, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (S.L.); (W.F.); (P.R.)
| | - Sławomir Letkiewicz
- Phage Therapy Unit, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (S.L.); (W.F.); (P.R.)
- Department of Health Sciences, Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa, 42-200 Częstochowa, Poland
| | - Wojciech Fortuna
- Phage Therapy Unit, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (S.L.); (W.F.); (P.R.)
- Department of Neurosurgery, Wrocław Medical University, 50-556 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Paweł Rogóż
- Phage Therapy Unit, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (S.L.); (W.F.); (P.R.)
| | - Edyta Pasternak
- Bacteriophage Laboratory, Department of Phage Therapy, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (A.G.); (B.W.-D.); (E.P.); (R.M.)
- Bioethics Committee, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Ryszard Międzybrodzki
- Bacteriophage Laboratory, Department of Phage Therapy, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (A.G.); (B.W.-D.); (E.P.); (R.M.)
- Phage Therapy Unit, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (S.L.); (W.F.); (P.R.)
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-006 Warsaw, Poland
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Żaczek M, Weber-Dąbrowska B, Międzybrodzki R, Łusiak-Szelachowska M, Górski A. Phage Therapy in Poland - a Centennial Journey to the First Ethically Approved Treatment Facility in Europe. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:1056. [PMID: 32582061 PMCID: PMC7291835 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Although phage discovery is an unquestionable merit of the English bacteriologist Frederick W. Twort and the Canadian-French microbiologist Félix d'Hérelle, who both discovered phages over 100 years ago, the Polish history of phage studies also dates back to those years. In contrast to the Western world, developing phage treatment in Poland has never been abandoned despite the country's tense history marked by the Second World War (WWII) and the communism era. Today, Poland takes a prominent and remarkable place in the phage research area. Furthermore, established in 2005, the Phage Therapy Unit at the Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy in Wrocław, the first such center within European borders, has quickly become a model for other centers in the world facing the issue of widespread antibiotic resistance. This article constitutes an attempt to fill the gap in the scientific literature by providing a comprehensive summary of the long tradition of phage research in Poland.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maciej Żaczek
- Bacteriophage Laboratory, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences (HIIET PAS), Wrocław, Poland
| | - Beata Weber-Dąbrowska
- Bacteriophage Laboratory, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences (HIIET PAS), Wrocław, Poland
- Phage Therapy Unit, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences (HIIET PAS), Wrocław, Poland
| | - Ryszard Międzybrodzki
- Bacteriophage Laboratory, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences (HIIET PAS), Wrocław, Poland
- Phage Therapy Unit, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences (HIIET PAS), Wrocław, Poland
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Transplantation Institute, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Marzanna Łusiak-Szelachowska
- Bacteriophage Laboratory, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences (HIIET PAS), Wrocław, Poland
| | - Andrzej Górski
- Bacteriophage Laboratory, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences (HIIET PAS), Wrocław, Poland
- Phage Therapy Unit, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences (HIIET PAS), Wrocław, Poland
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Abstract
Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that infect bacterial hosts, and since their discovery over a century ago they have been primarily exploited to control bacterial populations and to serve as tools in molecular biology. In this commentary, we highlight recent diverse advances in the field of phage research, going beyond bacterial control using whole phage, to areas including biocontrol using phage-derived enzybiotics, diagnostics, drug discovery, novel drug delivery systems and bionanotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa O'Sullivan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Cork Institute of Technology, County Cork, Ireland
| | - Colin Buttimer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Cork Institute of Technology, County Cork, Ireland
| | - Olivia McAuliffe
- Biotechnology Department, Teagasc, Moorepark Food Research Centre, Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland
| | - Declan Bolton
- Division of Food Safety, Teagasc, Food Research Centre, Ashtown, County Dublin, Ireland
| | - Aidan Coffey
- Department of Biological Sciences, Cork Institute of Technology, County Cork, Ireland
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