Topographical diversity of common skin microflora and its association with skin environment type: An observational study in Chinese women.
Li. Xi X; Yuan. Chao C; Xing. Licong L; Humbert. Philippe P
Key Findings
- Pseudomonadaceae was the most common skin microbe, while Staphylococcus aureus was the least common across all sites.
- Skin sites grouped into three types – normal (hand‑back, back, antecubital fossa, volar forearm), dry (interdigital web‑space), and oily (glabella).
- Exposed skin areas showed higher bacterial diversity than covered areas, and LL‑37 (along with other barrier proteins) correlated with these microbial distributions.
Practical Outcomes
- For DIY skin‑care enthusiasts, the study suggests that the skin’s exposure level and barrier health shape its microbiome, so protecting or restoring barrier function (e.g., with moisturizers or LL‑37‑boosting ingredients) could help manage bacterial balance. Tailoring products to skin type—dry, oily, or normal—may be more effective than a one‑size‑fits‑all approach.
Summary
Researchers looked at the skin bacteria of 100 Chinese women in winter and measured how they relate to skin traits and the antimicrobial peptide LL‑37. They found that different body sites have distinct bacterial mixes, that exposed skin has more diverse microbes, and that LL‑37 levels go hand‑in‑hand with these patterns.
Abstract
This study evaluated cutaneous microbial distribution, and microbial co-occurrence at different body sites and skin environments in Chinese women (39.6 ± 11.9 years, N = 100) during the winter season. Microbial distribution (Propionibacterium acnes, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Lactobacillus, Pseudomonadaceae, and Malassezia furfur), association with biomarkers (antimicrobial peptides: LL-37, β-defensins [HBD-2, HBD-3]), and claudin-1) and skin biophysical parameters (transepidermal water loss, pH, skin scaliness and roughness, sebum and hydration levels) were also determined. Skin sites (glabella [GL], hand-back [HB], interdigital web-space [IS], antecubital fossa [AF], volar forearm [VF], back [BA]) were classified as normal, oily or dry based on two-step cluster analysis and exposed or unexposed (uncovered or covered by clothes, respectively) based on seasonal apparel. Pseudomonadaceae and Staphylococcus aureus had the highest and lowest detection rate respectively at all sites. Cluster analysis identified skin sites as 'normal' (HB, BA, AF, VF), 'dry' (IS) and 'oily' (GL). Bacterial alpha diversity was higher in exposed (HB, IS, and GL) compared with unexposed sites (BA, AF and VF). Co-occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus with any of the other five microorganisms was lower in dry and oily skin versus normal skin. Skin exposure, biophysical/barrier profile and biomarkers were found to be associated with bacterial distribution and co-occurrence.
Study Information
pubmed
2017
2017-12-22T00:00:00.000Z
10.1038/s41598-017-18181-5