Objectives: 1). To characterise the skin microbiome
2). To examine how the microbiome differs between dry and non-dry skin
3). To understand how the skin microbiome changes in response to treatment
Introduction: Considerable work has been invested in understanding the composition of the skin microbiome, how this differs between body sites and changes in medical conditions.
However, despite its high prevalence in society, little work has been undertaken to investigate the microbiome of dry skin and to understand how this changes in external challenges.
Materials / method: Cohort studies were undertaken in two geographically distinct locations (European
and North American) wherein a total of 222 subjects were recruited and lower leg skin classified as dry or non-dry based on visual assessment. Microbiome protocols employed to extract and analyse the microbial 16S rRNA gene prior to taxonomic, diversity and network analysis of microbiome data.
Results: All measures revealed a high degree of consistency between the two geographic cohorts. Staphylococcus, Cutibacterium, and Corynebacterium were the dominant genera in both cohorts and both skin types. Significant differences in microbiome diversity were observed using some metrics and microbiome network analysis demonstrated that in both cohorts the microbiome of dry skin exhibits decreased connectivity and resilience relative to that of non-dry skin.
Conclusion: This is the first study of the dry skin microbiome to compare large cohorts of subjects across multiple geographies. In contrast to previously published studies which used small cohorts, this study found no difference in α-diversity between dry and normal skin. Instead, this study found clear and consistent differences in microbiome β-diversity and network co-occurrence. These changes suggest that the microbiome of dry skin is compromised, exhibiting decreased connectivity and increased fragility relative to the microbiome of non-dry skin.
Declaraciones
¿Ha recibido algún tipo de financiamiento para realizar su investigación sobre esta temática?
Si
Por favor especifique las entidades (individuo, empresa, sociedad): Research supported by Unilever R&D
¿Ha recibido algún pago, honorario u otra compensación por su trabajo acerca de esta investigación?
Si
Por favor especifique las entidades (individuo, empresa, sociedad): Salary as an employee of Unilever
¿Tiene vínculos financieros con alguna entidad que podría llegar a competir estrechamente con los medicamentos, materiales o instrumentos tratados en su investigación?
Si
Por favor especifique las entidades (individuo, empresa, sociedad): Unilever R&D
¿Posee o ha solicitado una patente relacionada a los materiales, productos o instrumentos utilizados en su investigación?
No
Este trabajo es presentado gracias al apoyo de: Unilever R&D