A recent study published in Frontiers in Immunology examined whether bacteria residing on the skin and in the gut may play a role in the development of a broad range of skin diseases, including acne vulgaris, alopecia areata, androgenic alopecia, hidradenitis suppurativa, pilonidal cyst, rosacea, rhinophyma, and seborrheic dermatitis.1 The investigators used an analysis technique known as bi-directional Mendelian randomization to identify 294 varieties of bacteria on the skin and 211 in the gut.
An unclassified Corynebacterium and members of the family Micrococcaceae on the skin, as well as groups of gut bacteria from the class Clostridia and Deltaproteobacteria, order Clostridiales and Desulfovibrionales and genus Odoribacter, were associated with rosacea. Bacteria from the phylum Cyanobacteria, order Pasteurellales, family Pasteurellaceae, and genus Anaerofilum, Dialister, Ruminococcus2, and Slackia were not associated with rosacea and may offer a protective effect against rosacea.
The researchers found a very different collection of microbes associated with rhinophyma, including an unknown Staphylococcus species and members of the class Gammaproteobacteria on the skin and bacteria from the genus Coprobacter and Lactococcus in the gut. However, they reported that gut bacteria of the class Actinobacteria appeared to offer a strong protective effect against rhinophyma. A strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis, Finegoldia magna and an unidentified member of the phylum Bacteroidetes on the skin and Bifidobacteria in the gut may also have a protective effect against rhinophyma, they said. Further research is necessary to confirm any positive and negative relationships revealed by their study.
Reference:
1. Zhu Y, Liu W, Wang M, et al. Causal roles of skin and gut microbiota in skin appendage disorders suggested by genetic study. Front Immunol 2024 Sep 10;15:1427276. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1427276.