The skin microbiome in Hidradenitis Suppurativa

Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, inflammatory skin disease of the hair follicle defined by recurrent nodules, tunnels and scarring involving the intertriginous regions. Although the pathogenesis of HS remains enigmatic, several factors point to a potential involvement the cutaneous microbiome. In this case-control study, biopsies from HS patients (lesional and non-lesional) and from healthy controls were analysed using Next-generation 16S ribosomal RNA gene Sequencing (NGS). The skin microbiome was characterized in 30 HS patients and 24 healthy controls. The NGS data provided a previously unreported characterization of the skin microbiome in HS. The study demonstrated that the microbiome in HS differs significantly from that of healthy controls, in both lesional as well as non-lesional skin. Porphyromonas and Peptoniphilus spp dominated the lesional samples and were not detected in healthy controls. In non-lesional HS skin, a significant increased equality between co-colonizing species was found suggesting an imbalanced skin microbiome precede the development of HS lesions. Furthermore, quantification of Propionibacterium sp. showed a significantly higher presence in healthy controls versus HS skin, thus indicating Propionibacterium sp. is a part of the pathogenesis in HS. Our study supports the hypothesis of a link between a dysbiotic cutaneous microbiome and HS.