While initially considered as a 2 m 2 flat surface representing a smaller and less influential niche than gut or lung, when one considers skin’s 3-dimensional topography it becomes an estimated 30 m 2, similar in surface area to gut or lung.
#GLADIATOR BEGINS REFINE SKIN#
The skin surface micro-environment is colonized by a wide range of microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, viruses, and fungi, collectively referred to as the skin microbiome. Human skin serves as our protective physical barrier, but also consists of a complex micro-environmental ecosystem. Malassezia: A Major Component of the Skin Microbiome
This review discusses recent developments that have expanded our understanding of Malassezia’s role in the skin microbiome, with a focus on its multiple roles in health and disease as commensal, pathogen, and protector. These approaches are leading toward development of new therapeutic targets and treatment options. Our increased understanding of host- and microbe-specific interactions should lead to identification of key factors that maintain skin in a state of healthy mutualism or, in turn, initiate pathogenic changes. Application of these tools continues to peel back the layers of Malassezia/skin interactions, including clear examples of pathogenicity, commensalism, and potential protective or beneficial activities creating mutualism. Over the last decade, new tools for Malassezia culture, detection, and genetic manipulation have revealed not only the ubiquity of Malassezia on skin but new pathogenic roles in seborrheic dermatitis, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, and pancreatic ductal carcinoma. The high proportion of Malassezia in the skin microbiome makes understanding their role in healthy and diseased skin crucial to development of functional skin health knowledge and understanding of normal, healthy skin homeostasis.
Malassezia, a fungal genus currently comprising 18 species and numerous functionally distinct strains, are lipid-dependent basidiomycetous yeasts and integral components of the skin microbiome. A better understanding of the complex milieu of microbe-microbe and host-microbe interactions will be required to define the ecosystem’s optimal function and enable rational design of microbiome targeted interventions. The skin microbial community is a multifunctional ecosystem aiding prevention of infections from transient pathogens, maintenance of host immune homeostasis, and skin health.
0 kommentar(er)
