Fig. 1. Identification and development of therapeutics based upon phage receptors.

The top rectangle (A) depicts the identification of a phage (tailed hexagon) whose receptor (purple squares) is determined, in empirical tests in mice, to be required for virulence. At this point, depending upon the disease under study, phage therapy (B) could be a promising therapeutic approach. Should disease pathogenesis warrant an alternative approach to therapy, a protocol is depicted (C) that utilizes a high-throughput screen of small molecules to identify therapeutic candidates based upon their ability to confer phage resistance. Subsequent experiments, to establish that the compounds identified prevent or alter receptor biosynthesis, are described in the text. Viable candidates (one compound illustrated) are moved forward for tests in mice