Skin Microbiome in Atopic Dermatitis

• Published in: Acta dermato-venereologica Vol. 100; no. 12; p. adv00164
• Main Authors: Edslev, S, Agner, T, Andersen, P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sweden Society for Publication of Acta Dermato-Venereologica 09.06.2020; Medical Journals Sweden
• Subjects: Animals; atopic dermatitis; Dermatitis, Atopic - immunology; Dermatitis, Atopic - metabolism; Dermatitis, Atopic - microbiology; Dermatitis, Atopic - pathology; Disease Progression; Dysbiosis; filaggrin; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Intermediate Filament Proteins - metabolism; Microbiota; Review; Severity of Illness Index; Skin - immunology; Skin - metabolism; Skin - microbiology; Skin - pathology; skin microbiome; staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - growth & development; Staphylococcus aureus - immunology; Staphylococcus aureus - pathogenicity; Virulence; skin microbiome; atopic dermatitis; filaggrin; Staphylococcus aureus
• ISSN: 1651-2057; 0001-5555; 1651-2057
• DOI: 10.2340/00015555-3514

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.