Dysbiosis of Skin Microbiota in Psoriatic Patients: Co-occurrence of Fungal and Bacterial Communities

Abstract

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, whose pathogenesis involves dysregulated interplay among immune cells, keratinocytes and environmental triggers, including microbiota. Bacterial and fungal dysbiosis has been recently associated with several chronic immune-mediated diseases including psoriasis. In this comprehensive study, we investigated how different sampling sites and methods reflect the uncovered skin microbiota composition. After establishing the most suitable approach, we further examined correlations between bacteria and fungi on the psoriatic skin. We compared microbiota composition determined in the same sample by sequencing two distinct hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene. We showed that using the V3V4 region led to higher species richness and evenness than using the V1V2 region. In particular, genera, such as Staphylococcus and Micrococcus were more abundant when using the V3V4 region, while Planococcaceae , on the other hand, were detected only by the V1V2 region. We performed a detailed analysis of skin microbiota composition of psoriatic lesions, unaffected psoriatic skin, and healthy control skin from the back and elbow. Only a few discriminative features were uncovered, mostly specific for the sampling site or method (swab, scraping, or biopsy). Swabs from psoriatic lesions on the back and the elbow were associated with increased abundance of Brevibacterium and Kocuria palustris and Gordonia , respectively. In the same samples from psoriatic lesions, we found a significantly higher abundance of the fungus Malassezia restricta on the back, while Malassezia sympodialis dominated the elbow mycobiota. In psoriatic elbow skin, we found significant correlation between occurrence of Kocuria , Lactobacillus , and Streptococcus with Saccharomyces , which was not observed in healthy skin. For the first time, we showed here a psoriasis-specific correlation between fungal and bacterial species, suggesting a link between competition for niche occupancy and psoriasis. However, it still remains to be elucidated whether observed microbial shift and specific inter-kingdom relationship pattern are of primary etiological significance or secondary to the disease.

Oral Microbiota Composition and Antimicrobial Antibody Response in Patients with Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis

“…Using the software tool LEfSe [35], we discovered the genus Malassezia to be highly enriched in patients with an active RAS ulcer, which is consistent with the hypothesis of microbial shift in favor of opportunistic pathogens. This observation is also in line with published data connecting the presence of Malassezia with incidence of other diseases, including dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis, and psoriasis [36][37][38][39][40]. The second most abundant species in the Active RAS cohort was Candida albicans, often described either as a commensal or opportunistic pathogen in the oral cavity [34,41].…”

Investigation of Age-Related Changes in the Skin Microbiota of Korean Women

“…Balanced colonization of the normal skin microbiota contributes to inhibiting adhesion of pathogens, whereas imbalanced colonization of an abnormal skin microbiota can lead to skin diseases/disorders [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Previous studies have reported microorganisms on the skin that are beneficial [ 7 , 8 ] or detrimental [ 9 , 10 ] to the physiological activity of cells [ 1 , 11 ], and a variety of physiological alterations triggered in the skin can be explained based on this information [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Accordingly, alterations in microbial communities consisting of skin microbiota have been implicated in the diversification of skin physical or physiological properties and the occurrence of skin-associated diseases, such as acne [ 15 ], atopic dermatitis [ 14 ], psoriasis [ 12 ], and dandruff [ 13 ].…”

Intestinal Fatty Acid Binding Protein, a Biomarker of Intestinal Barrier, is Associated with Severity of Psoriasis

“…I-FABP has previously been used as a biomarker in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases [15], mesenteric ischemia [16], necrotizing enterocolitis [17], septic shock [18], acute pancreatitis [19] or acute decompensated heart failure [20]. Recently, increased I-FABP concentration has been confirmed in patients with psoriasis [10,21]. However, the association of I-FABP with the clinical course of psoriasis remains unexplored.…”