Dr. Śliwka studies bacteriophages in veterinary medicine

– Bacteriophages, as viruses attacking and destroying bacteria, are becoming more and more common. Numerous studies have evaluated their potential for treating humans, or for use in animal husbandry, but this is rarely with regard to veterinary purposes involving companion animals, i.e. dogs and cats – says Dr. Paulina Śliwka, who admits that human phage therapy is referred to as a personalised, 'tailor-made' form of medicine, i.e. tailored to an specific patient. Her research can be referred to as personalised veterinary medicine, which is likely to take place in the near future.

Anaerobes Clostridioides difficile and Clostridium perfringens can cause severe diarrhoea in cats and dogs, and are also resistant to antibiotics, encouraging veterinarians to look for new therapeutic measures, including bacteriophages. Only lytic phages are used for phage therapy, but to date no strictly virulent - i.e. infectious - bacteriophage has been identified against these two specific pathogens colonising the gastrointestinal tract of pets.

– The isolation of lytic bacteriophages will therefore be key in the project, which is not easy due to the difficulty of culturing the bacteria – anaerobes. In my research I will use bacterial isolates obtained from sick animals as well as from those that do not show signs of illness, due to the risk of carrying strains potentially pathogenic to humans. The efficacy and stability of bacteriophages will be verified in vitro - explains Dr. Śliwka, adding that the project she is carrying out involves the compilation of a library of virulent bacteriophages, with the genomes described contributing to a public database.

The scientist from the Department of Food Biotechnology and Microbiology intends to use the research carried out in the Miniatura 6 project for applying for another grant – the Sonata. The objective is the same: to select the best bacteriophages and methods for their effective delivery to the infected area, providing an opportunity not only to treat, but also prevent reinfection with pathogenic strains of Clostridioides difficile and Clostridium perfringens. Other aims include the development of a phage preparation in the form of orally administered microspheres – studies conducted by Dr. Śliwka to date show that bacteriophages 'locked' in a carrier retain their biological activity in conditions imitating the stomach, i.e. in the presence of digestive enzymes and bile salts, while at the same time not limiting the release of phages in the lower sections of the gastrointestinal tract.