CLINICAL TRIAL article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Microbial Immunology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1566786
This article is part of the Research TopicSkin Microbiome: Microbiological, Immunological and Cellular aspects for therapies to control Antimicrobial Resistance and Skin RepairView all 3 articles
Full title: A noteworthy issue: microbiome data variation depending on sampling methods in skin microecology studies in acne vulgaris patients
Provisionally accepted
- 1The Ice Dermalab, Shanghai, China
- 2Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, Tongji University Medical School, Shanghai, China
- 3Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, China
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Introduction: Skin microecology significantly affects health, with the microbiome being a complex community of microorganisms. Different niche preferences of microorganisms raise concerns about the adequacy of common sampling methods like swabbing and cyanoacrylate biopsy. In this study, we aim to contribute to a more suitable sampling strategy in acne microbiome studies.Methods: This study involved ten mild to moderate acne patients. Three sampling methods were used: swab sampling (S1), modified standardized skin surface biopsy (S2), and individual comedo extraction (S3). DNA was extracted and sequenced to analyze the microbiome data.Results: There were significant differences in the bacterial and fungal microbiome data obtained by the different sampling methods. Staphylococcus spp. (significantly higher in S3, P<0.05) and Malassezia spp. (higher in S3, P<0.05) were most affected by sampling methods. Bacterial phyla Proteobacteria (abundant in S1) and Bacteroidota (dominant in S2) also showed method-dependent variations.Conclusion: The choice of sampling method significantly impacts microbiome data, highlighting the need for accurate sampling to understand the relationship between the skin microbiome and acne. Standardizing sampling methods in future studies is essential for advancing skin microecology research.
Keywords: skin microecology, Acne Vulgaris, Sampling method, microbiome, comedo extraction
Received: 25 Jan 2025; Accepted: 16 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xu, Yang, Yan, Zhang, Liu, Wang, Liu and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiuli Wang, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, Tongji University Medical School, Shanghai, China
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