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Acne, the Skin Microbiome, and Antibiotic Treatment

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Abstract

Acne vulgaris is a chronic skin disorder involving hair follicles and sebaceous glands. Multiple factors contribute to the disease, including skin microbes. The skin microbiome in the follicle is composed of a diverse group of microorganisms. Among them, Propionibacterium acnes and Malassezia spp. have been linked to acne development through their influence on sebum secretion, comedone formation, and inflammatory response. Antibiotics targeting P. acnes have been the mainstay in acne treatment for the past four decades. Among them, macrolides, clindamycin, and tetracyclines are the most widely prescribed. As antibiotic resistance becomes an increasing concern in clinical practice, understanding the skin microbiome associated with acne and the effects of antibiotic use on the skin commensals is highly relevant and critical to clinicians. In this review, we summarize recent studies of the composition and dynamics of the skin microbiome in acne and the effects of antibiotic treatment on skin microbes.

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Acknowledgements

We thank He Yanyan, Zeng Rong, and Liu Yuzhen from Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College (CAMS&PUMC) for their input.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 4339 CNSI, 570 Westwood Plaza, Building 114, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Haoxiang Xu & Huiying Li

  2. Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

    Haoxiang Xu

  3. UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Huiying Li

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  1. Haoxiang Xu
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Correspondence to Huiying Li.

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Funding

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant (R01GM099530) from National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), National Nature Science Foundation of China (81703148, 81673087, 81502739), CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences (CIFMS 2016-I2 M-1-003), and Innovation Research on Critical Diseases (2016ZX320014).

Conflict of interest

The Regents of the University of California is the owner of three patent applications related to acne and/or healthy skin, which list H.L. as one of the inventors. H.L. is a co-founder and shareholder of SkinomiX Biosciences Inc. and Naked Biome Inc. H.X. states no conflict of interest.

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Xu, H., Li, H. Acne, the Skin Microbiome, and Antibiotic Treatment. Am J Clin Dermatol 20, 335–344 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40257-018-00417-3

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