Bacterial microbiota composition in hidradenitis suppurativa

Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) is a inflammatory skin disease with both an epidermal and dermal component. Shifts in the skin microbiota have been implicated in the pathogenesis of the disease. Therefore, we aimed to analyse the microbiota composition of HS lesional skin at different depths using swabs, superficial and deep biopsies.
Thirty-two patients were included with chronic, active disease. All samples were investigated with 16s rRNA gene PCR amplification and sequencing of the V1-V3 region.
There was a lower alpha diversity in deeper layers of the skin and in more severe disease status (Hurley stages). Furthermore, an increased relative abundance was found at the phylum level for Proteobacteria in the deep biopsies compared to swabs. Additionally, a reduction of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes was seen within the deeper layers of HS skin. At the genus level, increased relative abundance of Prevotella was found in Hurley stage III patients. Multivariate analysis showed that both sampling technique and Hurley stage were significantly associated with different microbiota compositions at both phylum and genus level.