Classification of Cutibacterium acnes at phylotype level by MALDI-MS proteotyping

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Kanae Teramoto1, Tatsuki Okubo1, Yoshihiro Yamada1

  • 1Koichi Tanaka Mass Spectrometry Research Laboratory, Shimadzu Corporation.

Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Series B, Physical and Biological Sciences
|December 13, 2019
PubMed

Insights

A new method using MALDI-MS proteotyping can now accurately classify Cutibacterium acnes strains into their phylotypes. This technique offers a faster and more reliable alternative to DNA-based identification for this common skin bacterium.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Proteomics
  • Bacteriology

Background:

  • Cutibacterium acnes is a key human skin commensal, producing propionic acids that maintain skin pH and inhibit pathogens.
  • C. acnes is implicated in skin conditions like acne vulgaris and sarcoidosis.
  • Existing DNA-based methods classify C. acnes into six phylotypes, but a more practical identification method is needed due to phylotype-specific variations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a practical and high-throughput method for identifying Cutibacterium acnes phylotypes.
  • To overcome limitations of existing matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) fingerprinting techniques that fail to discriminate certain phylotypes.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a high-throughput protein purification technique utilizing ultrafiltration to isolate biomarker proteins.
  • Applied MALDI-MS proteotyping, analyzing profiles of identified biomarker peaks.
  • Tested the method on 24 C. acnes strains for phylotype classification.

Main Results:

  • The developed MALDI-MS proteotyping method successfully classified all 24 tested C. acnes strains into their correct phylotypes.
  • This proteotyping approach demonstrated effective discrimination between C. acnes phylotypes.

Conclusions:

  • A novel, high-throughput MALDI-MS proteotyping method enables accurate and rapid classification of Cutibacterium acnes phylotypes.
  • This protein-based approach offers a promising alternative to DNA-based methods for C. acnes phylotype identification.
Keywords:
Cutibacterium acnesMALDI-MS proteotypingantitoxinphylotyperibosomal protein

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