The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of A3R phage and Staphylococcus aureus lysate obtained after phage infection on neutrophil degranulation. The exocytosis of primary and secondary granules from neutrophils was investigated in vitro in whole blood specimens by flow cytometry based on the expression of specific markers of exocytosis (CD63 for primary granules and CD66b for secondary granules). We found that both A3R and S. aureus lysate had no significant effect on the exocytosis of primary and secondary granules. These data suggest that neither A3R virions nor any products of phage-induced lysis of S. aureus are likely to induce neutrophil degranulation in patients who are treated with phage preparations. Since neutrophil granules contain some potentially toxic proteins, our results provide an important argument for the safety of phage therapy. Moreover, these data indicate that the induction of neutrophil degranulation is not likely to contribute to antibacterial effects of phages.
