Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Jul 3:10:249-257.
doi: 10.2147/CCID.S135529. eCollection 2017.

Effect of a lotion containing the heat-treated probiotic strain Lactobacillus johnsonii NCC 533 on Staphylococcus aureus colonization in atopic dermatitis

Sandrine Blanchet-Réthoré  1 , Valérie Bourdès  1 , Annick Mercenier  2 , Cyrille H Haddar  3 , Paul O Verhoeven  3 , Philippe Andres  4
Affiliations

Effect of a lotion containing the heat-treated probiotic strain Lactobacillus johnsonii NCC 533 on Staphylococcus aureus colonization in atopic dermatitis

Sandrine Blanchet-Réthoré et al. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. .

Abstract

Objective: Staphylococcus aureus dominates the skin microbiota in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), with bacterial loads correlating with disease severity. The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate the effect of a cosmetic lotion containing heat-treated Lactobacillus johnsonii NCC 533 (HT La1) on S. aureus colonization in AD patients.

Methods: This open-label, multicenter study was performed in AD patients in Germany. First, detection of S. aureus was performed in all patients using the swab or scrub-wash method of sampling, followed by quantitative culture or quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Repeatability and reproducibility of all method combinations were evaluated to select the best combination of sampling and quantification. Second, a lotion containing HT La1 was applied to lesional skin twice daily for 3 weeks. Scoring using local objective SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD), measurement of S. aureus load, and lesional microbiome analysis were performed before and after the 3-week treatment period.

Results: Thirty-one patients with AD were included in the study. All sampling and quantification methods were found to be robust, reproducible, and repeatable for assessing S. aureus load. For simplicity, a combination of swab and quantitative polymerase chain reaction was chosen to assess the efficacy of HT La1. Following application of a lotion containing HT La1 to AD lesions for 3 weeks, a reduction in S. aureus load was observed in patients, which correlated with a decrease in local objective SCORAD. Interestingly, high baseline skin concentrations of S. aureus were associated with good responses to the lotion.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the application of a lotion containing HT La1 to the lesional skin of patients with AD for 3 weeks controlled S. aureus colonization and was associated with local clinical improvement (SCORAD). These findings support further development of topical treatments containing heat-treated nonreplicating beneficial bacteria for patients with AD.

Keywords: HT La1; L. johnsonii NCC 533; S. aureus; atopic dermatitis; heat treated La1; microbiology.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure SB-R and VB are employees of Galderma R&D. PA is a former employee of Galderma R&D. AM is an employee of the Nestlé Research Center, Nestec Ltd. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Swab and scrub wash sampling techniques.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Repeatability (first and second sampling) of Staphylococcuss aureus sampling (A) and quantification (B) methods at Day 1 for load determination (Log10 CFU/cm2) in target atopic dermatitis lesions. Notes: Results are presented for both quantification methods (A) and both sampling methods (B). Pearson’s correlation coefficient ≥0.83. Abbreviations: CFU, colony forming units; PCR, polymerase chain reaction.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Staphylococcus aureus load evolution between Days 8 and 28 in target atopic dermatitis lesions treated with heat-treated Lactobacillus johnsonii lotion vs contralateral lesions untreated or treated with patient’s usual moisturizer (n=15). Notes: Bacterial sampling and quantification were performed by swab and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The difference between S. aureus load in target vs contralateral lesions at Day 28 was significant (p<0.05 using Wilcoxon signed rank test). Abbreviations: CFU, colony forming units; PCR, polymerase chain reaction.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Change in skin microbiota composition between Days 8 and 28 in target atopic dermatitis lesions treated with heat-treated Lactobacillus johnsonii lotion.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Box plots show local objective SCORAD evolution between Days 8 and 28 in target atopic dermatitis lesions treated with heat-treated Lactobacillus johnsonii lotion. Statistical analysis was performed using the paired t-test. Notes: ◊ indicates mean values and ○ indicates outlier values. Abbreviation: SCORAD, SCORing Atopic Dermatitis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Weidinger S, Novak N. Atopic dermatitis. Lancet. 2016;387(10023):1109–1122. - PubMed
    1. Bieber T. Atopic dermatitis. N Engl J Med. 2008;358(14):1483–1494. - PubMed
    1. Leyden JJ, Marples RR, Kligman AM. Staphylococcus aureus in the lesions of atopic dermatitis. Br J Dermatol. 1974;90(5):525–530. - PubMed
    1. Gloor M, Peters G, Stoika D. On the resident aerobic bacterial skin flora in unaffected skin of patients with atopic dermatitis and in healthy controls. Dermatologica. 1982;164(4):258–265. - PubMed
    1. Higaki S, Morohashi M, Yamagishi T, Hasegawa Y. Comparative study of staphylococci from the skin of atopic dermatitis patients and from healthy subjects. Int J Dermatol. 1999;38(4):265–269. - PubMed