Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42033508›Full record

ReviewArchives of microbiology2026

Phage endolysin therapy: a modern antimicrobial strategy against highly drug-resistant superbugs.

Kritika Sharma, Naveen Chaudhary, Harpreet Kaur, Neelam Taneja

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Archives of microbiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Kritika SharmaDepartment of Medical Microbiology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, 160012, India.
Naveen ChaudharyDepartment of Medical Microbiology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, 160012, India.
Harpreet KaurDepartment of Medical Microbiology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, 160012, India.
Neelam TanejaDepartment of Medical Microbiology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, 160012, India. drneelampgi@yahoo.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Due to the global rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), conventional antibiotics are becoming increasingly ineffective in treating bacterial infections. Innovative approaches are needed to understand bacterial resistance mechanisms and fully preserve human health. Endolysins, peptidoglycan hydrolases derived from bacteriophages, offer a novel approach to tackling AMR by targeting bacterial cell walls. Endolysins exhibit remarkable specificity for bacterial species, strains, and antibiotic-resistant variants. Their mechanism of action involves degrading the peptidoglycan layer in bacterial cell walls, leading to rapid cell lysis. This unique mode of action reduces the likelihood of cross-resistance with existing antibiotics, making endolysins a potential therapeutic option. This review provides a comprehensive overview of endolysin biology, including their structure, classification, and mechanisms of action, and emphasizes their potential as novel antibacterial agents. A unique contribution of this review is the integrated analysis of recent advances in endolysin protein engineering and nanotechnology, highlighting how these approaches have expanded endolysins’ functional scope by improving stability, pharmacokinetics, delivery efficiency, and antibiofilm activity, and by enhancing activity against Gram-negative bacteria. Importantly, this review also identifies research gaps and translational challenges, including susceptibility to serum proteases, short circulatory half-life, immunogenicity, delivery barriers posed by Gram-negative outer membranes, manufacturing scalability, and regulatory considerations. By examining the strengths and challenges of endolysin therapies, this review outlines future research directions and translational strategies, positioning endolysins as alternative therapeutic agents within emerging antimicrobial frameworks.

Indexed as

Anti-Bacterial AgentsBacterial InfectionsBacteriophagesEndopeptidasesBacteriaDrug Resistance, BacterialHumansAnti-Bacterial AgentsendolysinEndopeptidasesAntimicrobial resistanceBacteriophageEndolysinEngineered endolysinsNanotechnology

Identifiers

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.