Staphylococcus Agr virulence is critical for epidermal colonization and associates with atopic dermatitis development

• Published in: Science translational medicine Vol. 12; no. 551
• Main Authors: Nakamura, Yuumi, Takahashi, Hiroki, Takaya, Akiko, Inoue, Yuzaburo, Katayama, Yuki, Kusuya, Yoko, Shoji, Tatsuma, Takada, Sanami, Nakagawa, Seitaro, Oguma, Rena, Saito, Nobuko, Ozawa, Naoko, Nakano, Taiji, Yamaide, Fumiya, Dissanayake, Eishika, Suzuki, Shuichi, Villaruz, Amer, Varadarajan, Saranyaraajan, Matsumoto, Masanori, Kobayashi, Tomoko, Kono, Michihiro, Sato, Yasunori, Akiyama, Masashi, Otto, Michael, Matsue, Hiroyuki, Núñez, Gabriel, Shimojo, Naoki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 08.07.2020
• Subjects: Animals; Dermatitis, Atopic; Eczema; Mice; Skin; Staphylococcus - genetics; Staphylococcus aureus; Virulence
• ISSN: 1946-6242
• DOI: 10.1126/SCITRANSLMED.AAY4068

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is commonly associated with colonization by in the affected skin. To understand the role of in the development of AD, we performed whole-genome sequencing of strains isolated from the cheek skin of 268 Japanese infants 1 and 6 months after birth. About 45% of infants were colonized with at 1 month regardless of AD outcome. In contrast, skin colonization by at 6 months of age increased the risk of developing AD. Acquisition of dysfunctional mutations in the Agr quorum-sensing (QS) system was primarily observed in strains from 6-month-old infants who did not develop AD. Expression of a functional Agr system in was required for epidermal colonization and the induction of AD-like inflammation in mice. Thus, retention of functional virulence during infancy is associated with pathogen skin colonization and the development of AD.