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Review
. 2022 Oct 28;23(21):13071.
doi: 10.3390/ijms232113071.

Skin Barrier Function and the Microbiome

Hyun-Ji Lee  1 , Miri Kim  1
Affiliations
Review

Skin Barrier Function and the Microbiome

Hyun-Ji Lee et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Human skin is the largest organ and serves as the first line of defense against environmental factors. The human microbiota is defined as the total microbial community that coexists in the human body, while the microbiome refers to the collective genome of these microorganisms. Skin microbes do not simply reside on the skin but interact with the skin in a variety of ways, significantly affecting the skin barrier function. Here, we discuss recent insights into the symbiotic relationships between the microbiome and the skin barrier in physical, chemical, and innate/adaptive immunological ways. We discuss the gut-skin axis that affects skin barrier function. Finally, we examine the effects of microbiome dysbiosis on skin barrier function and the role of these effects in inflammatory skin diseases, such as acne, atopic dermatitis, and psoriasis. Microbiome cosmetics can help restore skin barrier function and improve these diseases.

Keywords: acne; atopic dermatitis; microbiome; psoriasis; skin barrier.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Microbial, physical, chemical, and innate and adaptive immune barrier function of skin microbiome. CoNS, Coagulase negative Staphylococcus; Agr, auxiliary gene regulator; AMPs, antimicrobial peptides; AHR, aryl hydrocarbonate receptor; C. acnes, Cutibacterium acnes; SCFA, short-chain fatty acids; HDAC, histone deacetylases; MAIT, Mucosal-associated invariant T; T regs, regulatory T cells.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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