A microbiome study reveals the potential relationship between the bacterial diversity of a gymnastics hall and human health.

Currently, investigations on the microbiota of sports centers and related facilities have been carried out in some countries, which showed that Microsporum gypseum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes and T. tonsurans are important dermatoprotofungi. In China, some research on athletes and sports equipment between the fungal community and public health has made some interesting achievements. However, the bacterial group among them has not been reported. Therefore, The aim of this study was to uncover (I) gymnastic equipment is there potential pathogenic factors and (ii) is there any difference in the biomarker of bacterial in different types of gymnastic room? The samples were collected from the gymnastics halls of one university in western China and main sports equipment, including gymnastics carpets, moving barres, hoops and balls, as well as wall bars, parallel bars and horizontal bars. The 16S rDNA of all the samples was sequenced, and the analyses were performed using FaproTax, Bug base function prediction and Line Discriminant Analysis (LDA) Effect Size. A 16S rDNA sequence analysis revealed abundant bacterial species biodiversity on gymnasts and apparatuses from two gymnastics halls at a university in western China. An analysis using the FaproTax and Bugbase functional prediction platforms showed that there were some opportunistic pathogens on the athletes and equipment from the Rhythmic Gymnastics (RG) and Artistic Gymnastics (AG) halls, such as Staphylococcus and Corynebacteiaceae. Infectious agents associated with cancer induction and development, such as Ruminococcaceae, Veillonellaceae and Moraxellaceae, as well as microbial toxin producers with a potential impact on human health, were also detected. According to a line discriminant analysis (LDA effect size), the bacterial biomarker groups of the two gymnasiums were different at the phylum-genus level: for RG, Erysipelatoclostridium, Lachnospiraceae and Bacteroidales, while for AG, Rhizobiales. Based on the results of the investigation, we suggest that more comprehensive consideration should be given to indoor microbial biodiversity and related public health problems in school gymnasiums.

Effects of silicone gel sheet on the stratum corneum hydration.

Various groups have reported the efficacy of treatment with topical silicone gel sheet (SGS) for keloids and hypertrophic scars. Because its hydrating effect on the stratum corneum (SC) has been suggested as a mechanism underlying its therapeutic effectiveness, we evaluated it by comparing it with simple plastic film occlusion. With biophysical instruments we assessed the water content of the skin surface as well as its water evaporation on the flexor aspects of bilateral forearms of 10 healthy volunteers for 30min after removal of dressings of SGS or a plastic film that were applied either for 1 day or for 7 days. Occlusion with SGS or plastic film induced hydration of the skin surface, which was followed by an initial quick and later slow process of dehydration when the skin was exposed to the ambient atmosphere. The magnitude of the increase in hydration induced by SGS was always smaller than that of the plastic film occlusion and, unlike the latter treatment, hydration became less with repetition of SGS treatment. On day 7, the SC hydration quickly reduced to the level of non-treated control skin after removal of the dressings. An in vivo test demonstrated that the water-holding capacity of the SC normalised after 7 days of SGS treatment. SGS probably produces a favourable condition for the skin by protecting it from various environmental stimuli, while keeping the SC in an adequately but not over-hydrated condition.

Biophysical assessment of persistent effects of moisturizers after their daily applications: evaluation of corneotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Although effective moisturizers can improve xerotic skin changes immediately, their effects are only transient, because the materials applied to the stratum corneum (SC) are easily shed from the skin surface by the daily desquamation process. However, there are a few lines of clinical as well as experimental evidence suggesting that, once application of effective moisturizers is repeated daily, they may produce persistent effects without being influenced by the desquamation of the skin surface. If we can expect such pharmacological effects by simple repeated applications of moisturizers on the skin surface, it will provide a great motivation for the introduction of corneotherapy into the treatment of xerotic skin problems. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed not only to confirm the feasibility of corneotherapy but to propose a practical method to assess such long-lasting effects of moisturizers by using biophysical methods. METHODS: We conducted applications of various moisturizers twice daily to different areas of the flexor surface of the forearms for the initial 5 days of the first week. Thereafter, we performed biophysical measurements of the SC of these areas in the second week, namely 3, 5 and 7 days after their last applications. RESULTS: Daily repeated applications of moisturizers did not induce any change in the water barrier function of the SC or in the size of desquamating corneocytes, a parameter for turnover rate of the SC. However, they substantially increased high-frequency conductance, a parameter for the hydration state of the skin surface, for several days in both normal individuals and patients with atopic xerosis, although the lasting effects were shorter in the latter. The obtained data enabled us to rank the efficacy of moisturizers either according to the duration of the lasting effects or the magnitude of an increase in the hydration levels of the SC. CONCLUSION: The present results confirmed the feasibility of corneotherapy, in which even simple application of moisturizers targeted at the SC can produce unexpected persistent clinical effects after their repeated treatments. The method described in this study constitutes a practical assay system to evaluate the efficacy of topical agents used for dry skin problems objectively and quantitatively.

Decreased hydration state of the stratum corneum and reduced amino acid content of the skin surface in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis.

Recent studies of the stratum corneum (SC) in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) have disclosed various functional impairments even in clinically unaffected skin. However, it has not been clear whether the presence of atopic background itself has any influence on the function of the SC. In this study, we conducted functional studies of the SC in the mid-portion of the flexor surface of the forearm of 49 skin lesion-free patients with allergic rhinitis to Japanese cedar pollen (atopic respiratory disease; ARD) in early spring, their disease-active season, by comparing the findings obtained with those in 28 patients with AD and 57 age-matched healthy control subjects. The results showed that the patients with ARD had significantly lower skin surface hydration levels assessed by high-frequency conductometry than those of the healthy control subjects. These levels were, however, not as low as those noted in moderately or severely affected patients with AD. Moreover, by measuring the amounts of water-soluble amino acids contained in the superficial portions of the SC, we found that these are also decreased at a marginal level (P = 0.051) in patients with ARD compared with levels in healthy control subjects. In contrast, the water barrier function of the SC evaluated by measurements of transepidermal water loss in patients with ARD was not different from that of the healthy control subjects. These results suggest that, although their skin appears normal clinically, the SC of the patients with ARD has functional deficiency in water-holding capacity.

Normal recovery of the stratum corneum barrier function following damage induced by tape stripping in patients with atopic dermatitis.

Patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) constantly inflict mechanical damage to their skin by scratching induced by pruritus. On excoriated lesions of the cheek we found exceedingly high levels of transepidermal water loss (TEWL) as compared to those in the normal skin of healthy subjects. However, it is not clear whether the skin of patients with AD also shows an abnormally slow recovery after mechanical damage. We compared the recovery of the barrier function of the stratum corneum (SC), after its complete removal by tape stripping, in patients with AD and age-matched healthy control subjects. On the normal-looking skin of the flexor forearm, we found no difference in the recovery process of the water barrier function of the SC between the two groups. This suggests that ability to reconstruct SC barrier function after mechanical damage is not impaired in AD patients.

Functional analyses of the stratum corneum in scars. Sequential studies after injury and comparison among keloids, hypertrophic scars, and atrophic scars.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the functional properties of the stratum corneum (SC) of various scars. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study. SETTING: University hospital medical center. PATIENTS: Thirty-two consecutive patients surgically treated for various skin diseases and 26 consecutive patients with hypertrophic scars or keloids. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Noninvasive bioengineering measurements of functional properties of the SC, such as transepidermal water loss (TEWL), high-frequency conductance, and SC turnover time. RESULTS: The SC barrier function assessed by TEWL was found to be a better parameter for the functional evaluation of scars than the hydration state of the skin surface measured by high-frequency conductometry. In general, the SC on the scars of deeper wounds in the dermis took longer to normalize functionally than the SC on the scars of superficial wounds, especially on the high compared with the abdomen. Thus, elevated levels of TEWL observed on scars at the donor sites of split-thickness grafts normalized between 200 and 400 days in contrast to fewer than 50 days for those of subepidermal erosions. Both TEWL and high-frequency conductance remained high in hypertrophic scars and keloids, and the SC involved showed a faster turnover time than that of adjacent normal skin. CONCLUSIONS: Scars, a proliferative change of the dermis, can be objectively evaluated according to functional abnormalities of the SC, because the dermis has a close relationship with the epidermis and with the SC. The functional characteristics of the SC of fresh scars and those of hypertrophic scars and keloids resemble those of retinoid-treated skin, rather than those found in epidermal hyperproliferative conditions such as psoriasis and dermatitis.

High-frequency conductance measurement of the skin surface hydration state of dry skin using a new probe studded with needle-form electrodes (MT-8C).

BACKGROUND/AIMS: When high-frequency conductance measurements are performed on dry scaly skin such as atopic xerosis, senile xerosis or psoriasis, the values recorded with a flat surfaced ordinary probe tend to be lower, indicating a reduced hydration state, than the actual one, because the rough and firm skin surface prevents close contact with the hard and flat surface of the applied probe. METHODS: We evaluated the usefulness of an MT-8C probe (Measurement Technologies Cincinnati, USA), whose skin-attaching portion is studded with 8 needle-like electrodes instead of a flat surfaced type, for measurments on dry skin. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: The MT-8C probe yielded conductance values slightly higher than those recorded with the flat surfaced probe attached to Skicon in measuring the hydration state of moderately dry skin surface such as atopic xerosis and senile xerosis. It seems to be comparable or more sensitive than the capacitance recording with the Corneometer. The recorded values obtained with the MT-8C probe showed more variations than the latter because of its higher sensitivity and much smaller contact area, that makes it difficult to touch to the same spots repeatedly. No such a difference was observed on severely dry skin and thickly scaly psoriatic lesions.

Mechanism of human polymorphonuclear leukocyte adhesion to serum-treated corneocytes.

The accumulation of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) beneath the stratum corneum is a characteristic histopathologic finding in various aseptic pustular dermatoses. To elucidate the pathomechanism involved in this phenomenon, we investigated whether PMN also attach to a sheet of corneocytes in vitro. A 1-cm2 corneocyte sheet was attached to a sterile glass slide with double adhesive tape used for skin graft surgery before incubating with human serum. The PMN suspension then was applied to the sheet. Attached cells were stained with May-Grunwald-Giemsa and counted with a computer image analyzer. We quantitatively assessed PMN adhesion to the serum-treated corneocyte sheets, which was mediated by activation of the alternative complement pathway. Addition of either anti-CD18 or anti-CD11b antibody to the assay system resulted in a marked reduction of PMN adhesion. We also demonstrated immunohistochemically that iC3b was formed on the serum-treated corneocytes. These findings suggest that PMN attach to serum-treated corneocytes through an interaction of CR3 expressed on PMN with iC3b-coated corneocytes. In addition, we found that this adhesion was enhanced by activation of PMN with phorbol myristate acetate. From these results, we speculate that complement activation by corneocytes occurs in the cutaneous lesions of aseptic pustular dermatoses and that PMN can be stimulated by the interaction with iC3b-opsonized corneocytes as well as by chemotaxins, leading to damage of the surrounding epidermal keratinocytes.

Influence of staphylococcal lipoteichoic acid on the frustrated phagocytosis of neutrophils against opsonized corneocytes.

Stratum corneum (SC) exerts a proinflammatory effect in the presence of complement. When Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) invades the skin through damaged SC, neutrophils accumulate at the subcorneal portion of epidermis to phagocytize the S. aureus as noted in impetigo. Besides the phagocytosis of bacteria, neutrophils interact with opsonized SC in a form of frustrated phagocytosis, increasing a damage of the surrounding tissues. Based on our previous finding that staphylococcal protein A promotes the interaction between SC and neutrophils, we investigated whether lipoteichoic acid (LTA), another cell wall component of S. aureus, also shows similar properties. We found that LTA significantly promoted the binding of neutrophils to opsonized SC, resulting in an increase in SC-induced respiratory burst of neutrophils assessed by chemiluminescence (CL). The binding of neutrophils to the SC was almost completely inhibited by the blocking of CR3 with anti-CD11b antibody, suggesting that the binding between SC and neutrophils is mediated by interaction between C3bi and CR3 (Mac-1). Such enhanced interaction seems to function in the primary host defence mechanism against the invading S. aureus through the skin such as in impetigo.