Exploration of the Changes in Facial Microbiota of Maskne Patients and Healthy Controls Before and After Wearing Masks Using 16 S rRNA Analysis

Abstract

Whether in the field of medical care, or in people's daily life and health protection, the importance of masks has been paid more and more attention. Acne, the most common complication after wearing masks, which is also called maskne, has been successfully introduced into the common language as a common topic of dermatologist consultations. This study aims to study the changes of microflora in maskne patients and healthy controls before and after wearing masks. In the summer of 2023, we collected a total of 50 samples from 15 maskne patients and 10 healthy controls before and after wearing surgical masks for a long time. 16 S ribosomal DNA sequencing and identification technology with V3-V4 variable region were adopted to explore the microbiome changes caused by mask wearing, analyze the changes in microbial diversity, and make interaction network. LDA effect size analysis was used to identify which bacteria showed significant changes in their relative abundance from phylum to genus. After wearing a mask, the microbiome of the maskne patients changed significantly more than that of the healthy controls, with both α diversity and β diversity lower than those of maskne patients before wearing masks and those of healthy controls after wearing masks. Co-occurrence network analysis showed that compared with other groups, the network of maskne patients after wearing masks for a long time had the lowest connectivity and complexity, but the highest clustering property, while the opposite was true for healthy controls. Many microbes that are potentially beneficial to the skin decreased significantly after wearing a mask. There was almost no difference in healthy controls before and after wearing a mask.

Keywords: 16s rRNA; Acne; Mask; Maskne; Microbiota; Skin.

Fig. 1

Changes of microbial diversity (a) α diversities include observed diversity, Chao diversity, Ace diversity, Shannon diversity, and Gini-Simpson diversity. Paired sample groups: A and B, NA and NB were analyzed with the paired ANOVA t-Test, Non-paired sample groups: A and NA, B and NB were analyzed with ANOVA t-Test. *p < 0.05;**p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001. (b) ANOISM demonstrated significant differences among A-B-NA-NB groups using Bray-Curtis distance. (c) Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) of NA and NB groups using Bray-Curtis distance. (d)ANOISM demonstrated statistical differences among A-NA groups using Bray-Curtis distance (p < 0.1)

Fig. 2

Composition of bacterial communities at the phylum and genus levels (a) Composition of the microbiomes of the four groups at the phylum level; (b) Comparison of bacterial community composition at the genus level between groups A and B (c) Comparison of bacterial community composition at the genus level between groups A and NA. A: Maskne patients after wearing masks for a long time. B: Maskne patients before wearing masks for a long time. NA: Healthy controls after wearing masks for a long time. NB: Healthy controls before wearing masks for a long time

Fig. 3

Co-occurrence network in four groups (a) Network of maskne patients after wearing mask (A), (b) Network of maskne patients before wearing mask (B), (c) Network of healthy controls after wearing mask (NA) and (d) Network of healthy controls before wearing mask (NB); Each different color in Fig. 3a, b and c, and 3d represents a module within the network. Nodes, which represent different genera, are grouped into these modules, with nodes within the same module having more connections among themselves and fewer connections with nodes in other modules.(e) Comparison of network topology properties among groups, weighted degree, triangles, and cluster. Wilcoxon test, *p < 0.05;**p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001

Fig. 4

LEfSe analysis of taxonomy with significant differences in abundance among groups Evolutionary branching diagram: the circles radiating from the inside to the outside represent taxonomic levels from the phylum to the genus. Each small circle at different taxonomic levels represents a taxon at that level, and the diameter size of the small circles is proportional to the relative abundance size. (a) Cladogram between A and B. Species without significant differences are uniformly hided or colored in chartreuse, with red nodes representing microbial taxa that play an important role in group B. The names of the species indicated by letters in the figure are shown in the legend on the right. (b) Cladogram between A and NA. Species without significant differences are uniformly hided or colored in chartreuse, with red nodes representing microbial taxa that play an important role in group A, and green nodes representing microbial taxa that play an important role in group NA. The names of the species indicated by letters in the figure are shown in the legend on the right. A: Maskne patients after wearing masks for a long time. B: Maskne patients before wearing masks for a long time. NA: Healthy controls after wearing masks for a long time. NB: Healthy controls before wearing masks for a long time