Topical application of bacteriocins from promotes decolonization in acneic skin and improves the clinical appearance of mild-to-moderate acne.

INTRODUCTION

Patients with mild-to-moderate acne are frequently colonized by on their skin, which alters microenvironmental skin conditions and exacerbates disease symptoms. Bacteriocins produced by may act as antimicrobial peptides against Gram-positive bacteria.

AIM

To investigate whether topical application of bacteriocins from could serve as a potential strategy for promoting decolonization from acneic skin.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The research product was a cream formulation containing 1% bacteriocins from . First, we conducted a 60-day pilot study on the effect of topically applied bacteriocins from on the absolute abundance of in 12 patients with mild-to-moderate acne. Second, we designed an 8-week, uncontrolled, open-label, multicentre clinical study to investigate whether the topical application of bacteriocins from reduces the number of inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions, as well as Global Acne Grading Scale (GAGS) scores, in 373 patients with mild-to-moderate acne.

RESULTS

At the microbiological level, quantitative PCR showed a decrease in the absolute abundance of in acne areas after topical application of the research product for 60 days (-38%, < 0.001). In the clinical study, the number of inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions was found to decrease at 8 weeks by 59% ( < 0.001) and 58% ( < 0.001), respectively, compared with baseline. A 56% decrease was observed for GAGS scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Topical bacteriocins from can promote decolonization in acneic skin, ultimately improving the clinical appearance of mild-to-moderate acne.