Selective targeting of skin pathobionts and inflammation with topically applied lactobacilli
Open accessAbstract
Tailored skin microbiome modulation approaches with probiotics are highly challenging. Here, we show that lactobacilli are underestimated members of the skin microbiota. We select specific strains of nomadic lactobacilli for their functional applicability on the skin and capacity to inhibit growth and inflammation by skin pathobionts. The strains are formulated as microcapsules for topical formulations and tested in patients with mild-to-moderate acne. The selected lactobacilli are able to reduce inflammatory lesions in a pilot and placebo-controlled study. Daily application for 8 weeks is associated with an in vivo temporary modulation of the microbiome, including a reduction in relative abundance of staphylococci and Cutibacterium acnes , and an increase in lactobacilli. The reduction in inflammatory lesions is still apparent 4 weeks after the topical application of the lactobacilli ended, indicating a possible additional immunomodulatory effect. This study shows that carefully selected and formulated lactobacilli are a viable therapeutic option for common acne lesions.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Byrd, A. L., Belkaid, Y., & Segre, J. A. (2018) · Nature Reviews Microbiology · doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2017.157 · Cited by 2,806 · see citing works
Drug-Resistant <i>E. coli</i> Bacteremia Transmitted by Fecal Microbiota Transplant
DeFilipp, Z., Bloom, P. P., Torres Soto, M., Mansour, M. K., Sater, M. R. A., Huntley, M. H., Turbett, S., Chung, R. T., Chen, Y.-B., & Hohmann, E. L. (2019) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmoa1910437 · Cited by 1,281 · see citing works
(FEEDAP), E. P. O. A. A. P. O. S. U. I. A. F. (2012) · EFSA Journal · doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2012.2740 · Cited by 904 · see citing works
Lactobacillus species as biomarkers and agents that can promote various aspects of vaginal health
Petrova, M. I., Lievens, E., Malik, S., Imholz, N., & Lebeer, S. (2015) · Frontiers in Physiology · doi:10.3389/fphys.2015.00081 · Cited by 523 · see citing works
Self-citationT cells and the skin: from protective immunity to inflammatory skin disorders
Ho, A. W., & Kupper, T. S. (2019) · Nature Reviews Immunology · doi:10.1038/s41577-019-0162-3 · Cited by 241 · see citing works
Jervis-Bardy, J., Leong, L. E. X., Marri, S., Smith, R. J., Choo, J. M., Smith-Vaughan, H. C., Nosworthy, E., Morris, P. S., O’Leary, S., Rogers, G. B., et al. (2015) · Microbiome · doi:10.1186/s40168-015-0083-8 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
Tapiovaara, L., Lehtoranta, L., Poussa, T., Mäkivuokko, H., Korpela, R., & Pitkäranta, A. (2016) · Beneficial Microbes · doi:10.3920/bm2015.0096 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
- Authors
- Lebeer, S., Oerlemans, E. F. M., Claes, I., Henkens, T., Delanghe, L., Wuyts, S., Spacova, I., van den Broek, M. F. L., Tuyaerts, I., Wittouck, S., De Boeck, I., Allonsius, C. N., Kiekens, F., & Lambert, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Antwerp (BE)
- Corresponding author
- Lebeer, Sarah
- ORCID
- Venue
- Cell Reports Medicine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2022-02
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 100521
- ISSN
- 2666-3791 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8861818
- OpenAlex
- W4213208915
- Cited by
- 95
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 5
- FWCI
- 16.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Cell Reports Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Acne and Rosacea Treatments and Effects
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Dermatology and Skin Diseases
- Keywords
- lactobacilli, skin microbiome, acne, topical probiotics, Propionibacterium acnes, Staphylococcus, inflammation, microcapsules, microbiota modulation, immunomodulation, probiotic formulation
- MeSH terms
- Acne Vulgaris, Humans, Inflammation, Lactobacillus, Propionibacterium acnes, Skin
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
