Staphylococcus aureus Promotes Cutaneous Lesions in Patients With Epidermolysis Bullosa

Abstract

Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a group of rare, heterogeneous congenital conditions characterised by epidermal fragility, resulting in blister formation and lesions. Patients with EB are prone to developing cutaneous wounds. However, the composition of the EB skin microbiome in Chinese individuals remains poorly understood. The objective was to investigate the EB skin microbiome in Chinese individuals. The clinical symptoms and laboratory tests were collected for a total of 29 EB patients (23 Recessive Dystrophic EB, 3 EB simplex, 2 Kindler syndrome, and 1 Dominant Dystrophic EB). A total of 120 swabs were collected from 62 lesion sites, 29 non-lesion skin areas, and 29 nostrils. These samples underwent 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and bacterial culture. The epidemiology of S. aureus was characterised, and its features were analysed using an animal model. Patients with EB exhibited a characteristic inflammatory response, marked by cutaneous lesions and elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid (SAA). Consistently, skin dysbiosis in EB patients was characterised by a predominance of S. aureus, particularly sequence type (ST) 7. Specifically, the abundance of S. aureus showed a positive correlation with EB severity and activity. Mechanistically, S. aureus isolated from lesional skin exhibited higher virulence due to increased accessory gene regulator (Agr) activity. Our study reported altered bacterial diversity and increased carriage of higher-virulence S. aureus in Chinese EB patients, which may potentially influence disease severity through microbiome alterations. Our findings suggested that maintaining the balance of the microbiome is crucial for optimising patient care.