New Research Aims to Personalise Infection Treatments for People with Cystic Fibrosis

Project Duration – 1 year

What is the research about?

Chronic lung infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa are a serious problem for people with cystic fibrosis (CF). These infections can be difficult to treat, contribute to worsening lung function and increase the risk of long-term complications.

Antibiotics are commonly used to treat Pseudomonas, but they do not always work and increasing antibiotic resistance is making treatment more difficult.

One promising alternative is bacteriophage (phage) therapy, which uses specialised viruses (phages) that target and kill bacteria. Phage therapy has shown potential against Pseudomonas, but it does not work for everyone.

Previous research has shown that some people with CF produce antibodies that can protect Pseudomonas from being cleared by the immune system. Dr Renee Ng and her team will investigate whether these antibodies also interfere with phage therapy, helping to explain why treatments may work well for some people but not others.

The project will also investigate how common antibodies against phages are in people with CF and whether these immune responses could influence the success of future phage-based treatments.

Why does this matter for people with CF?

The growing problem of antibiotic resistance means that alternative approaches such as phage therapy are becoming increasingly important. However, clinicians currently have limited ways to predict which treatments are most likely to be effective for an individual patient.

This research will help improve understanding of how immune responses may influence treatment outcomes in people with chronic Pseudomonas infections. Understanding these interactions could help explain why some people respond well to treatment while others do not. By helping clinicians select the right treatment for each patient, the research could reduce treatment failure, avoid unnecessary antibiotic use and limit side effects, improving the chances of clearing the infection.

The findings may support the development of more personalised approaches to infection management. This could help clinicians make better-informed treatment decisions. In turn, it may lead to better outcomes for people living with CF.

What will the research do?

The research team will:

• Investigate whether antibodies produced by people with CF affect the ability of phages to kill chronic Pseudomonas infections.
• Measure the prevalence of antibodies that recognise phages and explore their potential role in treatment outcomes.
• Generate new evidence to support the future development of more personalised treatments for people with cystic fibrosis.

What could happen next?

This project will provide important early evidence about how the immune system may influence the success of phage therapy in CF.

If specific antibody responses are found to affect treatment outcomes, future studies could investigate whether measuring these immune responses may help guide treatment decisions. The findings could also inform the design of future clinical studies of phage therapy and other emerging treatments for chronic bacterial infections.

Ultimately, the goal is to improve our understanding of why phage therapy may work better for some people than others, paving the way for more personalised and effective infection management for people living with CF.

The goal is to understand how immune responses influence the success of phage therapy, helping to inform future personalised approaches to managing chronic Pseudomonas infections in people with CF.