Bacteriophage Sf14 survival under simulated gastrointestinal conditions
- 1University of Florida
Abstract
Shigella flexneri is an enteric pathogen responsible for causing shigellosis, a type of bacillary dysentery of significant global health concern. The increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance has driven the search for alternative treatments, including bacteriophage (phage) therapy. However, the effectiveness of orally administered phages for enteric pathogens depends on their ability to survive passage through the gastrointestinal tract. In this study, the ability of bacteriophage Sf14 to maintain infectivity was evaluated under simulated gastrointestinal conditions using a modified INFOGEST 2.0 in vitro digestion model. This model includes salivary, gastric, and intestinal fluids with physiologically relevant compositions of electrolytes, bile salts, and enzymes. Phages were incubated in each simulated phase at standard physiological temperature, then tested for infectivity using quantitative plaque assays. Results show that Sf14 remained stable during the short duration of the oral phase and for the duration of the intestinal phase. By contrast, survival in simulated gastric fluid required a pH of 2.75 or higher, with rapid and substantial loss of infectivity at pH 2.5 and below. These findings demonstrate that while Sf14 is stable in oral and intestinal environments, the gastric phase poses a critical barrier to phage survival. With in vivo fasting gastric pH ranging from 1.5 to 3, encapsulation would enable the most flexible oral phage therapy against enteric pathogens, but ingestion after eating or alongside antacids may be sufficient.
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BibTeX
@misc{hernandez2026bacteriophage,
title = {{Bacteriophage Sf14 survival under simulated gastrointestinal conditions}},
author = {G. Hernandez and H. R. Kerns and S. M. Doore},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.24.754092},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.24.754092v1},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Bacteriophage Sf14 survival under simulated gastrointestinal conditions
AU - G. Hernandez
AU - H. R. Kerns
AU - S. M. Doore
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.24.754092
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.24.754092v1
AB - Shigella flexneri is an enteric pathogen responsible for causing shigellosis, a type of bacillary dysentery of significant global health concern. The increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance has driven the search for alternative treatments, including bacteriophage (phage) therapy. However, the effectiveness of orally administered phages for enteric pathogens depends on their ability to survive passage through the gastrointestinal tract. In this study, the ability of bacteriophage Sf14 to maintain infectivity was evaluated under simulated gastrointestinal conditions using a modified INFOGEST 2.0 in vitro digestion model. This model includes salivary, gastric, and intestinal fluids with physiologically relevant compositions of electrolytes, bile salts, and enzymes. Phages were incubated in each simulated phase at standard physiological temperature, then tested for infectivity using quantitative plaque assays. Results show that Sf14 remained stable during the short duration of the oral phase and for the duration of the intestinal phase. By contrast, survival in simulated gastric fluid required a pH of 2.75 or higher, with rapid and substantial loss of infectivity at pH 2.5 and below. These findings demonstrate that while Sf14 is stable in oral and intestinal environments, the gastric phase poses a critical barrier to phage survival. With in vivo fasting gastric pH ranging from 1.5 to 3, encapsulation would enable the most flexible oral phage therapy against enteric pathogens, but ingestion after eating or alongside antacids may be sufficient.
ER -