Altered Maturation of the Skin Microbiome in Infants with Atopic Dermatitis

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the early-life development of the skin microbiome in atopic derma-titis. Nineteen infants with atopic dermatitis and 19 healthy infants were evaluated 3 times, at 3 months intervals, within the first 30 months of life. Tape-strips were collected from volar forearms, cheeks, and ec-zema lesions, and the skin microbiome was assessed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Both the community struc-ture and richness of the skin microbiome of infants with atopic dermatitis differed significantly from that of healthy infants, with greater richness in healthy infants. For infants with atopic dermatitis, the community composition was not dominated by Staphylo-cocci. For healthy infants, community composition and richness correlated significantly with age, while such a pattern was not revealed in infants with atopic der-matitis. This suggests a slower maturation of the skin microbiome in atopic dermatitis, which precedes the staphylococcal predominance observed in older children and adults.