Analysis of gene expression in the skin of mice under high-fat diet regimen following topical association with Corynebacterium accolens.. Mus musculus

The resident skin microbiota plays a fundamental role in the control of skin physiology and growing evidence support the idea that, at this barrier site, both immunity and inflammatory processes are controlled by skin resident microbiota. However, how defined skin microbes influence the skin immune system under both steady state conditions and inflammatory settings remains poorly understood. Obesity has been linked to increased prevalence of skin inflammatory disorders. We used microarray analysis to investigate how Corynebacterium spp., dominant members of the skin microbiota of mice and humans, influence gene expression in the skin in mice under normal diet or a high-fat diet regimen. Overall design: Three weeks-old mice were placed under a high-fat diet regimen (60% total calories from fat) or a control diet regimen (10% total calories from fat) for a month and then topically associated on their skin with the bacterium Corynebacterium accolens. Some mice were left unassociated. The experiment had four groups of 5 mice: control diet unassociated; control diet associated with C. accolens; high fat diet unassociated; high fat diet associated with C. accolens. Two weeks after topical association, the ear pinnae of each mouse was collected and placed in RNA later.