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Review
. 2024 Dec;79(12):3269-3284.
doi: 10.1111/all.16378. Epub 2024 Nov 1.

The influence of lifestyle and environmental factors on host resilience through a homeostatic skin microbiota: An EAACI Task Force Report

Inge Kortekaas Krohn  1   2 , Chris Callewaert  3 , Hafsa Belasri  1   2 , Britta De Pessemier  3 , Celia Diez Lopez  3 , Charlotte G Mortz  4 , Liam O'Mahony  5 , Marina Pérez-Gordo  6 , Milena Sokolowska  7 , Zsofia Unger  8 , Eva Untersmayr  9 , Bernhard Homey  8 , Cristina Gomez-Casado  8
Affiliations
Review

The influence of lifestyle and environmental factors on host resilience through a homeostatic skin microbiota: An EAACI Task Force Report

Inge Kortekaas Krohn et al. Allergy. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

Human skin is colonized with skin microbiota that includes commensal bacteria, fungi, arthropods, archaea and viruses. The composition of the microbiota varies at different anatomical locations according to changes in body temperature, pH, humidity/hydration or sebum content. A homeostatic skin microbiota is crucial to maintain epithelial barrier functions, to protect from invading pathogens and to interact with the immune system. Therefore, maintaining homeostasis holds promise to be an achievable goal for microbiome-directed treatment strategies as well as a prophylactic strategy to prevent the development of skin diseases, as dysbiosis or disruption of homeostatic skin microbiota is associated with skin inflammation. A healthy skin microbiome is likely modulated by genetic as well as environmental and lifestyle factors. In this review, we aim to provide a complete overview of the lifestyle and environmental factors that can contribute to maintaining the skin microbiome healthy. Awareness of these factors could be the basis for a prophylactic strategy to prevent the development of skin diseases or to be used as a therapeutic approach.

Keywords: environment; homeostasis; lifestyle; microbiome; skin.

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Conflict of interest statement

MS has received research grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation, GSK, Novartis, Stiftung vorm. Bündner Heilstätte Arosa and OM Pharma as well as speaker's fee from AstraZeneca. The other authors declare that they do not have any conflict of interest to disclose in relation to this manuscript.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Skin microbiota composition at different anatomical locations. Skin microenvironments differ in temperature, pH, humidity, and sebum content, which conditions the composition of skin microbiota.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Functions of the skin microbiota. Skin microbiota is crucial to maintain the epithelial barrier function, to protect from invading pathogens and to interact with the immune system. These interactions ensure skin homeostasis.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Gut‐skin axis and sunlight exposure. The gut‐skin axis plays an important role in skin homeostasis and skin immunity via the production of various metabolites and compounds. Topical and oral administration of pre‐ and probiotics modulate the fitness of both skin and gut microbiota and protect the skin barrier from UV sunlight. In turn, UV sunlight is used as a therapy to restore skin microbiota homeostasis.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Take home message. Recommended practices to keep skin microbiota healthy based on the information compiled in this review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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