Acne Bacteria Strain Linked With Healthy Skin Identified By Researchers
Finally, a reason why not all of us are subject to the scourge of teenagers everywhere: acne.
New research from the University of California, Los Angeles, shows that not all strains of the acne-
causing bacteria Propionibacterium acnes, well, actually cause acne. And in fact, one strain of the
bacteria could keep skin healthy and clear.
"This P. acnes strain may protect the skin, much like yogurt's live bacteria help defend the gut from
harmful bugs," study researcher Huiying Li, assistant professor of molecular and medical pharmacology
at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, said in a statement. "Our next step will be to investigate
whether a probiotic cream can block bad bacteria from invading the skin and prevent pimples before
they start."
For the study, published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, the researchers examined the skin
of 49 people with pimply acne, and 52 people with clear skin. They used nose strips to gather the
microbial DNA from their skin, and then looked to see what bacterial strains they possessed.
Then, the researchers cultured the bacteria and sequenced the DNA of 66 of the P. acnes strains.
The researchers found a couple of strains that were present in about one in five of the participants with
acne, that were not at all present in those with healthy skin. And they also found a strain of P. acnes
that seems to only be present in the volunteers with the healthy skin, and not in the skin of those with
acne.
"We suspect that this strain contains a natural defense mechanism that enables it to recognize attackers
and destroy them before they infect the bacterial cell," Li said in the statement.