Skin Microbiome in Atopic Dermatitis

Acta Derm Venereol. 2020 Jun 9;100(12):adv00164. doi: 10.2340/00015555-3514.

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis is a common inflammatory skin disease with a complex pathogenesis that includes imbalanced immune system signalling, impaired skin barrier and enhanced Staphylococcus aureus skin colonization. The skin bacterial communities are characterized by increasing abundance of S. aureus, leading to reduced diversity compared with the bacterial communities on healthy skin, and increasing disease severity. In contrast, fungal communities are richer and more diverse on the skin of patients with atopic dermatitis, although distribution of the most common species is similar in patients and controls. Filaggrin deficiency in atopic dermatitis skin might be related to the enhanced skin colonization by S. aureus. In addition, S. aureus expressing variant virulence factors have been shown to elicit atopic dermatitis-like phenotypes in mice, indicating that specific S. aureus strains can induce flare-ups. This review aims to provide an overview of the recent literature on the skin microbiome in atopic dermatitis.

Keywords: Staphylococcus aureus; filaggrin; skin microbiome; atopic dermatitis.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Dermatitis, Atopic / immunology
  • Dermatitis, Atopic / metabolism
  • Dermatitis, Atopic / microbiology*
  • Dermatitis, Atopic / pathology
  • Disease Progression
  • Dysbiosis
  • Filaggrin Proteins
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions
  • Humans
  • Intermediate Filament Proteins / metabolism
  • Microbiota*
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Skin / immunology
  • Skin / metabolism
  • Skin / microbiology*
  • Skin / pathology
  • Staphylococcus aureus / growth & development*
  • Staphylococcus aureus / immunology
  • Staphylococcus aureus / pathogenicity
  • Virulence

Substances

  • FLG protein, human
  • Filaggrin Proteins
  • Intermediate Filament Proteins