Human Skin Microbiota in Various Phases of Atopic Dermatitis

Skin microbiota can be used to assess the macroorganism's overall health. The quantitative and qualitative microbiota composition depends on the macroorganism's state, while microbiota bacteria can cause and maintain cutaneous inflammation, in turn worsening the macroorganism's state. This leads to placing additional focus on determination of skin microbiota when studying the pathogenesis of allergic dermatoses. We present the results of our study on the microbiota of apparently healthy skin in children with atopic eczema (AE) exacerbation and skin microbiota in remission. The study revealed that the skin microbiota in children with AE significantly differs from that of healthy controls. The differences include not the quantitative but also qualitative skin microbiota composition both on AE lesions and apparently healthy skin, where the bacterial number exceeds that on the skin of the control group children by 2-4 times. We also observed qualitative bacterial imbalance and appearance and prevalence of microorganisms not typical for healthy skin, where saprophytic Staphylococcus is the basis of microbiota, while Staphylococcus aureus was the basis in patients with AE. The skin microbiota in children with AE in remission also differed significantly from the skin microbial flora in healthy children. The skin in remission was highly contaminated with microorganisms, in particular pathogens, which indicates sustained alterations of skin microbiota as an unfavorable prognostic factor that can provoke disease relapse.