Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24265031›Full record

ArticleApplied microbiology and biotechnology2014

Staphylococcus epidermidis in the human skin microbiome mediates fermentation to inhibit the growth of Propionibacterium acnes: implications of probiotics in acne vulgaris.

Yanhan Wang, Sherwin Kuo, Muya Shu, Jinghua Yu, Stephen Huang, Ashley Dai, Aimee Two, Richard L Gallo, Chun-Ming Huang

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Applied microbiology and biotechnology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 135 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
135citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
10.3field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

135 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 282 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Nationality and body location alter human skin microbiome.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2021
    Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Search for Potentially VirulentInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Scalp microbiome in male androgenetic alopecia:Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Microorganisms · 2025
    Article
  19. Review
  20. Article

75 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Yanhan WangDivision of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, 3525 John Hopkins Court, Rm276, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA.
Sherwin Kuo
Muya Shu
Jinghua Yu
Stephen Huang
Ashley Dai
Aimee Two
Richard L Gallo
Chun-Ming Huang
University of California, San Diego · USSanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute · USSurface Optics (United States) · USUniversity of California System · US

Funding

Skin Microbiome in epidermal immune defenseR01AI083358 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI GALLO, RICHARD L · 2010 to 2014
$1.9M
Indigenous Free Fatty Oleic acid Against MRSA Skin InfectionR21AI088147 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI HUANG, CHUN-MING · 2010 to 2011
$460k
Probiotic Skin Microbiome for Acne VulgarisR21AR068005 · NIAMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI HUANG, CHUN-MING · 2015 to 2016
$375k
Bacterial fermentation in skin microbiome as probiotics (Bfismp) against S. aureuR41AR064046 · NIAMS · SURFACE BIOADVANCES, INC. · PI HUANG, CHUN-MING · 2013 to 2013
$150k
NIAID NIH HHS 1R21AI088147NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI083358NIAID NIH HHS R21 AI088147NIAMS NIH HHS 1R41AR064046-01NIAMS NIH HHS R21 AR068005NIAMS NIH HHS R41 AR064046
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Increasing evidence demonstrates that commensal microorganisms in the human skin microbiome help fight pathogens and maintain homeostasis of the microbiome. However, it is unclear how these microorganisms maintain biological balance when one of them overgrows. The overgrowth of Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes), a commensal skin bacterium, has been associated with the progression of acne vulgaris. Our results demonstrate that skin microorganisms can mediate fermentation of glycerol, which is naturally produced in skin, to enhance their inhibitory effects on P. acnes growth. The skin microorganisms, most of which have been identified as Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis), in the microbiome of human fingerprints can ferment glycerol and create inhibition zones to repel a colony of overgrown P. acnes. Succinic acid, one of four short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) detected in fermented media by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis, effectively inhibits the growth of P. acnes in vitro and in vivo. Both intralesional injection and topical application of succinic acid to P. acnes-induced lesions markedly suppress the P. acnes-induced inflammation in mice. We demonstrate for the first time that bacterial members in the skin microbiome can undergo fermentation to rein in the overgrowth of P. acnes. The concept of bacterial interference between P. acnes and S. epidermidis via fermentation can be applied to develop probiotics against acne vulgaris and other skin diseases. In addition, it will open up an entirely new area of study for the biological function of the skin microbiome in promoting human health.

Indexed as

AntibiosisAcne VulgarisAnimalsAnti-Bacterial AgentsDNA, BacterialFermentationGlycerolHumansMiceMolecular Sequence DataProbioticsPropionibacterium acnesSequence Analysis, DNASkinStaphylococcus epidermidisSuccinic AcidAnti-Bacterial AgentsDNA, BacterialGlycerolSuccinic Acid

Identifiers

PMID24265031
PMCPMC3888247
OpenAlexW1995803803

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.