The microbiome extends to subepidermal compartments of normal skin
Open Access
- 5 February 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Nature Communications
- Vol. 4 (1), 1-8
- https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms2441
Abstract
Commensal microbes on the skin surface influence the behaviour of cells below the epidermis. We hypothesized that bacteria or their products exist below the surface epithelium and thus permit physical interaction between microbes and dermal cells. Here to test this hypothesis, we employed multiple independent detection techniques for bacteria including quantitative PCR, Gram staining, immunofluorescence and in situ hybridization. Bacteria were consistently detectable within the dermis and dermal adipose of normal human skin. Sequencing of DNA from dermis and dermal adipose tissue identified bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA reflective of a diverse and partially distinct microbial community in each skin compartment. These results show the microbiota extends within the dermis, therefore, enabling physical contact between bacteria and various cells below the basement membrane. These observations show that normal commensal bacterial communities directly communicate with the host in a tissue previously thought to be sterile.This publication has 45 references indexed in Scilit:
- Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiomeNature, 2012
- Skin Barrier Disruption: A Requirement for Allergen Sensitization?Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2012
- Microbial Symbiosis with the Innate Immune Defense System of the SkinJournal of Investigative Dermatology, 2011
- Diversity of the Human Skin Microbiome Early in LifeJournal of Investigative Dermatology, 2011
- Detection of prokaryotic mRNA signifies microbial viability and promotes immunityNature, 2011
- Activation of TLR2 by a Small Molecule Produced by Staphylococcus epidermidis Increases Antimicrobial Defense against Bacterial Skin InfectionsJournal of Investigative Dermatology, 2010
- Sebum Free Fatty Acids Enhance the Innate Immune Defense of Human Sebocytes by Upregulating β-Defensin-2 ExpressionJournal of Investigative Dermatology, 2010
- Commensal bacteria regulate Toll-like receptor 3–dependent inflammation after skin injuryNature Medicine, 2009
- Commensal DNA Limits Regulatory T Cell Conversion and Is a Natural Adjuvant of Intestinal Immune ResponsesImmunity, 2008
- Inducible Toll‐like Receptor and NF‐κB Regulatory Pathway Expression in Human Adipose TissueObesity, 2008