The urinary microbiome and biological therapeutics: Novel therapies for urinary tract infections
Abstract
The discovery of microbial communities in the urinary tract (the urobiome) has fundamentally altered the previous doctrine regarding urine sterility and associated urinary disorders. Recent advances in culturing and culture-independent DNA sequencing technologies have characterised the resident microbial community in the urobiome, and has, in turn, demonstrated how community imbalances potentially contribute to infection and disease. As we enter a post-antibiotic era, the effectiveness of standard antimicrobial treatments against multi-drug resistant (MDR) uropathogens is vastly diminished. Preliminary research is accumulating surrounding microbiome-based therapies, and their potential as non-antibiotic therapeutics. In this context, the urobiome is significantly underexplored, and knowledge regarding the fundamental role of its constituents is lacking. Herein, we review the current state of the art concerning the urobiome; specifically, how it impacts health and disease states, in the context of urinary tract infections (UTIs). Furthermore, we discuss the development of novel biological therapeutics that may have the potential to provide significant advancements in UTI therapy, with a particular focus on bacterial interference, probiotics, antimicrobial peptides, bacteriocins, and bacteriophage.
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