Prostatitis has various etiology including bacterial infection and dysregulated immunity; some of its forms remain a serious therapeutic challenge. Inflammation occurs in all forms of this disorder and is proposed to predispose to the development of prostate cancer (PC). There are reports that phage therapy is effective in chronic bacterial prostatitis. Recent findings suggest that phages not only eliminate bacteria, but also mediate immunomodulating (for example, anti-inflammatory) functions. The immunomodulating effects of phages could be beneficial in treating all forms of prostatitis and play some role in the prevention of the development of PC. As the etiological factors contributing to the majority of prostatitis cases remains largely unknown, and management options are often likewise limited, phage therapy merits further research as an attractive therapeutic option given its immunomodulating effects irrespective of the underlying causative factor(s).
Frontiers in microbiology. 2018 Jun 29*** epublish ***
Andrzej Górski, Ewa Jończyk-Matysiak, Marzanna Łusiak-Szelachowska, Ryszard Międzybrodzki, Beata Weber-Dąbrowska, Jan Borysowski, Sławomir Letkiewicz, Natalia Bagińska, Karen S Sfanos
Bacteriophage Laboratory, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland., Department of Clinical Immunology, Transplantation Institute, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland., Phage Therapy Unit, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland., Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.