The skin is the largest organ in the body and plays an important first line of defense against pathogens and environmental stressors. It provides important functions such as temperature regulation and humidity maintenance. Although mistakenly thought to damage the skin, causing oiliness and chapping, lipids actually play an important role in maintaining the skin barrier.
Organic compounds, including lipids, fats, oils, waxes and other types of molecules, are important components of the outer layer of the skin. Changes in the lipid composition of the skin can disrupt its protective capabilities, leading to various skin diseases, including eczema and psoriasis.
Human skin is home to thousands of species of bacteria. One of the most common skin microbes, Cutibacterium Acnes or C. Acnes, is known to cause acne, but its wider impact on skin health is poorly understood.
I am a dermatologist researcher working at the Gallo Lab at the University of California, San Diego. My colleagues and I are studying how the skin protects the body from infections and the environment, with a focus on the skin microbiome, or the microbes that live on the skin. In our recently published study, in collaboration with SILAB, a company that develops active ingredients for skin care products, we found that C.acnes stimulates certain skin cells, which significantly increases the production of lipids important for barrier maintenance.
Skin bacteria and lipid synthesis
To determine the role of bacteria in lipid production, we exposed keratinocytes, the cells that make up the epidermis, to various naturally occurring skin bacteria and analyzed changes in lipid composition.
Of the common skin bacteria we tested, only C. acnes caused an increase in lipid production in these cells. More precisely, there is a threefold increase in total lipids, including ceramides, cholesterol, free fatty acids and, above all, triglycerides. Each of these lipid types is important in maintaining the skin barrier, retaining moisture and protecting it from damage. These results suggest that C. acnes plays a unique role in the regulation of skin lipids.
We found that C.acnes increases lipid production by producing a type of short chain fatty acid called propionic acid. Propionic acid creates an acidic environment in the skin, which provides many benefits, including limiting the growth of pathogens, reducing staph infections, and supporting an anti-inflammatory effect in the gut.
We have also identified specific genes and receptors that regulate C. acnes lipid synthesis. Blocking these components also blocked lipid synthesis induced by C. acnes.
Taken together, our results highlight the important role of skin bacteria and their chemical by-products in shaping the lipid composition of the skin.
Strengthens the skin barrier
Our research shows that C.acnes propionic acid has many beneficial effects on the skin barrier. For example, propionic acid, by increasing the content of lipids in skin cells, reduces skin water loss.
We also found that lipids produced by skin cells exposed to C. acnes or propionic acid have antimicrobial activity against C. acnes. This suggests that the lipids produced by C.acnes play a dual role: in addition to controlling the presence of C.acnes in the skin, they also contribute to the balance of the overall skin microbiome, preventing one microbial species from dominating another. . .
In the complex interactions between skin and microbial hosts, the ubiquitous C. acnes plays an important role. Further research aimed at better understanding the skin microbiome may lead to the creation of new treatments for skin diseases.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. 
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