Issues

Bacteriophage therapy is an effective method to combat drug-resistant bacterial infections. However, phages are non-self-antigens to our body and are eliminated by the immune system. The rapid clearance of phages due to an anti-phage immune response might negatively impact the clinical outcome. The cover image for this issue of Essays in Biochemistry depicts an engineered phage with a “shield” that can evade clearance by the immune system. Read more in, ‘Phage-specific antibodies: Are they a hurdle for the success of phage therapy?’ by Ando and colleagues on pp 633–644.