Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42840453›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology2026

Phage therapy for multidrug-resistant pulmonary infections: bridging precision matching, lung delivery, host immunity, and clinical translation.

Ran Xiao, Yang Hao, Yadong Gong, Anjun She, Qingqing Ma, Mu Lin, Yubing Guo, Ting Jiang

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in cellular and infection 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

8 authors.

Ran XiaoCentral Laboratory, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Guizhou Aerospace Hospital, Zunyi, China.
Yang HaoCentral Laboratory, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Guizhou Aerospace Hospital, Zunyi, China.
Yadong GongCentral Laboratory, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Guizhou Aerospace Hospital, Zunyi, China.
Anjun SheCentral Laboratory, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Guizhou Aerospace Hospital, Zunyi, China.
Qingqing MaCentral Laboratory, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Guizhou Aerospace Hospital, Zunyi, China.
Mu LinCentral Laboratory, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Guizhou Aerospace Hospital, Zunyi, China.
Yubing GuoDepartment of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Ting JiangCentral Laboratory, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Guizhou Aerospace Hospital, Zunyi, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Chronic pulmonary infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria are a growing global health problem, and the declining effectiveness of conventional antibiotics increases the need for alternative antimicrobial strategies. Unlike broad-spectrum antibiotics, bacteriophages are highly specific, and their use therefore offers not only antibacterial activity but also the possibility of reshaping the airway microbial ecosystem in a targeted manner. In this review, we reframe phage therapy as a precision microbiome-modulating strategy for chronic pulmonary infections. We first review precision pathogen identification and phage-host matching, then discuss formulation engineering for pulmonary delivery, and then examine the interactions between phages and host immune barriers. We further analyze how phage therapy may selectively deplete MDR pathogens while sparing the commensal microbiota and how it may remodel the airway microbial ecosystem, and we critically evaluate the clinical evidence, distinguishing preclinical data, case-based evidence, observational studies, and controlled trials. By integrating these dimensions, we identify the main scientific and technical challenges and evidence gaps that currently limit clinical implementation, and we discuss strategies that could support the development of safe, effective, and clinically applicable phage-based therapies for chronic pulmonary infections.

Indexed as

BacteriophagesDrug Resistance, Multiple, BacterialPhage TherapyRespiratory Tract InfectionsAnimalsAnti-Bacterial AgentsBacteriaHumansLungMicrobiotaAnti-Bacterial Agentsairway microbiomeclinical translationdrug-resistant bacteriaimmune regulationmicrobiome modulationphage therapypulmonary delivery

Identifiers

PMID42840453
PMCPMC13639723

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.