Abstract
The cutaneous microbiome has been investigated broadly in recent years and some traditional perspectives are beginning to change. A diverse microbiome exists on human skin and has a potential to influence pathogenic microbes and modulate the course of skin disorders, e.g. atopic dermatitis. In addition to the known dysfunctions in barrier function of the skin and immunologic disturbances, evidence is rising that frequent skin disorders, e.g. atopic dermatitis, might be connected to a dysbiosis of the microbial community and changes in the skin microbiome. As a future perspective, examining the skin microbiome could be seen as a potential new diagnostic and therapeutic target in inflammatory skin disorders.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance
Brestoff JR, Artis D. Commensal bacteria at the interface of host metabolism and the immune system. Nat Immunol. 2013;14:676–84. Comprehensive review about the cutaneous microbiome and microbe-microbe dynamics.
Belkaid Y, Segre JA. 2014. Science. 2014;346:954–9. Good and recent review about host-microbe interplay.
Grice EA, Segre JA. The skin microbiome. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2011;9:244–53. Up-to date article about new methods exploring the skin microbiome and future prespectives.
Oh J, Byrd AL, Deming C, Conlan S, Program NCS, Kong HH, et al. Biogeography and individuality shape function in the human skin metagenome. Nature. 2014;514:59–64.
Sharon G, Garg N, Debelius J, Knight R, Dorrestein PC, Mazmanian SK. Specialized metabolites from the microbiome in health and disease. Cell Metab. 2014;20:719–30.
Pasparakis M, Haase I, Nestle FO. Mechanisms regulating skin immunity and inflammation. Nat Rev Immunol. 2014;14:289–301.
Nakatsuji T, Chiang HI, Jiang SB, Nagarajan H, Zengler K, Gallo RL. The microbiome extends to subepidermal compartments of normal skin. Nat Commun. 2013;4:1431.
Wilson M. Microbial inhabitants of humans: their ecology and role in health and disease. 2005. Cambridge University Press.
Picardo M, Ottaviani M, Camera E, Mastrofrancesco A. Sebaceous gland lipids. Dermatoendocrinol. 2009;1:68–71.
Scott JC, Sahl HG, Carne A, Tagg JR. Lantibiotic-mediated anti-lactobacillus activity of a vaginal Staphylococcus aureus isolate. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 1992;72:97–102.
Otto M, Sussmuth R, Vuong C, Jung G, Gotz F. Inhibition of virulence factor expression in Staphylococcus aureus by the Staphylococcus epidermidis agr pheromone and derivatives. FEBS Lett. 1999;450:257–62.
Mazmanian SK, Round JL, Kasper D. A microbial symbiosis factor prevents intestinal inflammatory disease. Nature. 2008;453:620–5.
Maslowski KM, Vieira AT, Ng A, Kranich J, Sierro F, Yu D, et al. Regulation of inflammatory responses by gut microbiota and chemoattractant receptor GPR43. Nature. 2009;461:1282–6.
Ushijima T, Takahashi M, Ozaki Y. Acetic, propionic, and oleic acid as the possible factors influencing the predominant residence of some species of Propionibacterium and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus on normal human skin. Can J Microbiol. 1984;30:647–52.
Shu M, Wang Y, Yu J, Kuo S, Coda A, Jiang Y, et al. Fermentation of Propionibacterium acnes, a commensal bacterium in the human skin microbiome, as skin probiotics against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. PLoS One. 2013;8:e55380.
Nakatsuji T, Kao MC, Zhang L, Zouboulis CC, Gallo RL, Huang CM. Sebum free fatty acids enhance the innate immune defense of human sebocytes by upregulating beta-defensin-2 expression. J Invest Dermatol. 2010;130:985–94.
Lai Y, Cogen AL, Radek KA, Park HJ, Macleod DT, Leichtle A, et al. Activation of TLR2 by a small molecule produced by Staphylococcus epidermidis increases antimicrobial defense against bacterial skin infections. J Invest Dermatol. 2010;130:2211–21. Good study about the cutaneous microbe-microbe interplay and dynamics.
Wanke I, Steffen H, Christ C, Krismer B, Gotz F, Peschel A, et al. Skin commensals amplify the innate immune response to pathogens by activation of distinct signaling pathways. J Invest Dermatol. 2011;131:382–90.
Lai Y, Di Nardo A, Nakatsuji T, Leichtle A, Yang Y, Cogen AL, et al. Commensal bacteria regulate Toll-like receptor 3-dependent inflammation after skin injury. Nat Med. 2009;15:1377–82.
Chehoud C, Rafail S, Tyldsley AS, Seykora JT, Lambris JD, Grice EA. Complement modulates the cutaneous microbiome and inflammatory milieu. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2013;110:15061–6.
Yang Y, Torchinsky MB, Gobert M, Xiong H, Xu M, Linehan JL, et al. Focused specificity of intestinal TH17 cells towards commensal bacterial antigens. Nature. 2014;510:152–6.
Zeeuwen PL, Kleerebezem M, Timmerman HM, Schalkwijk J. Microbiome and skin diseases. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2013;13(5):514–20. Recent and well-done review about cutaneous microbiome and inflammatory skin diseases.
Seite S, Bieber T. Barrier function and microbiotic dysbiosis in atopic dermatitis. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2015;15(8):479–83.
Salava A, Lauerma A. Role of the skin microbiome in atopic dermatitis. Clin Transl Allergy. 2014;17(4):33. Comprehensive and recent review about the cutaneous microbiome and atopic dermatitis.
Kong HH, Oh J, Deming C, Conlan S, Grice EA, Beatson MA, et al. Temporal shifts in the skin microbiome associated with disease flares and treatment in children with atopic dermatitis. Genome Res. 2012;22(5):850–9. Good clinical study about the microbiome dynamics in atopic dermatitis and decrease of microbial diversity during flares of the skin disease.
Williams MR, Gallo RL. The role of the skin microbiome in atopic dermatitis. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2015;15(11):65.
Iwase T, Uehara Y, Shinji H, Tajima A, Seo H, Takada K, et al. Staphylococcus epidermidis Esp inhibits Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation and nasal colonization. Nature. 2010;465:346–9. Study showing good examples about the microbe-microbe dynamics and antagonism of commensal bacteria with pathogens.
Baviera G, Leoni MC, Capra L, Cipriani F, Longo G, Maiello N, et al. Microbiota in healthy skin and in atopic eczema. Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:436921.
Powers CE, McShane DB, Gilligan PH, Burkhart CN, Morrell DS. Microbiome and pediatric atopic dermatitis. J Dermatol. 2015;42(12):1137–42.
Salava A, Aho V, Pereira P, Koskinen K, Paulin L, Auvinen P, et al. Skin microbiome in melanomas and melanocytic nevi. Eur J Dermatol. 2016;26(1):49–55.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
Drs. Fyhrquist, Salava, Auvinen, and Lauerma declare no conflicts of interest.
Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent
This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.
Additional information
This article is part of the Topical Collection on Allergic Skin Diseases
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fyhrquist, N., Salava, A., Auvinen, P. et al. Skin Biomes. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 16, 40 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-016-0618-5
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-016-0618-5