Photodynamic therapy treats acne by altering the composition of the skin microbiota

• Published in: Skin research and technology Vol. 29; no. 1; pp. e13269 - n/a
• Main Authors: Guo, Yangmin, Zeng, Mi, Yuan, Yumeng, Yuan, Mengsi, Chen, Yanxia, Yu, Haoyang, Liu, Ruimin, Ruan, Zhijie, Xie, Qingdong, Jiao, Xiaoyang, Lu, Tao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.01.2023; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: 16S sequencing; Abundance; Acne; Acne Vulgaris - drug therapy; Aminolevulinic acid; Aminolevulinic Acid - pharmacology; Aminolevulinic Acid - therapeutic use; Composition; Cutibacterium acnes; Diversity indices; Gene sequencing; Humans; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Microflora; Microorganisms; Original; Photochemotherapy - adverse effects; Photodynamic therapy; Propionibacterium acnes - genetics; Relative abundance; rRNA 16S; severe acne; Skin - microbiology; Skin diseases; skin microbiota; Statistical analysis; China; skin microbiota; Cutibacterium acnes; severe acne; photodynamic therapy; 16S sequencing
• ISSN: 0909-752X; 1600-0846; 1600-0846
• DOI: 10.1111/srt.13269

Background Acne is the eighth‐most prevalent inflammatory skin disease with no optimal treatment. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective treatment for severe acne. Aims The effect of PDT on the composition and diversity of skin microflora in severe acne patients was studied. Materials and Methods A total of 18 patients with severe acne and 8 healthy individuals were selected for this study. Patients were treated with 5‐aminolevulinic acid‐mediated PDT once a week three times in total; the skin microbiome was measured by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing before and after treatment (1 week after each PDT). Results The microflora composition was different between healthy controls and patients, and between patients before and after treatment. Alpha diversity indices were lower in patients than those in control. There were 15 bacterial genera with high relative abundance that had noticeable changes during treatment. At the genus level,particularly Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes formerly Propionibacterium acnes), there was no statistically significant difference among different group. The abundances of Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus were low. Discussion The microbial composition is different between severe acne patients acne patients and healthy individuals. The therapeutic efficacy of severe acne treated with PDT is associated with the composition and diversity of skin microbiota. Conclusion The skin microbial composition changes after PDT treatment. PDT is an effective method for the treatment of severe acne.