Viral components of the skin's microbiome may drive the development of innovative therapies for AD.

Bacteriophages or bacteria eaters may be a new therapy option for people with atopic dermatitis (AD), according to a study in Science Advances.

A MedUni Vienna team has investigated the interaction of phages and bacteria in the skin for the first time. It has long been known that the progression of AD is accompanied by massive changes in the skin microbiome, but it has been unknown whether viruses also contribute to the nature of the bacterial microbiome in healthy and diseased skin.  

Phages are viruses of different types and functions whose sole aim is to infect bacteria, thereby either destroying them - or stimulating them to multiply.

"In our study, we discovered previously unknown phages in the microbiome of the skin samples of AD patients, which help certain bacteria to grow faster in different ways," says first author Karin Pfisterer and Matthias Wielscher from the Department of Dermatology at MedUni Vienna, in a news release. “The resulting shift in the balance between phages and bacteria was not detected in the comparative samples from healthy individuals and may be one explanation for the overpopulation of the skin microbiome with bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus found in AD.”

Identifying and culturing phages specialized for Staphylococcus aureus may lead to a promising new treatment option, and further studies are now planned to confirm phage therapy for topical use in atopic dermatitis, the study authors conclude.