In addition, the skin microbiota could be classified into one of two characteristic patterns, which the investigators termed "cutaneotypes." Cutaneotype 1, which predominated in the skin of normal controls, contained an abundance of Proteobacteria. In contrast, cutaneotype 2, which was 3.5-fold more prevalent in psoriatic lesions than in controls, was enriched in Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. The psoriatic patients’ nonlesional skin contained a balance of cutaneotypes 1 and 2 (Microbiome 2013 Dec. 23 [doi:10.1186/2049-2618-1-31]).
Dr. Scher said that the next step in his own research is to learn whether the gut microbiota of psoriasis patients differs from that of psoriatic arthritis patients.
"That’s to me the most important piece of data. I think there’s a lot of work to do, and we’re doing it now, in prospective fashion. We’re following patients with psoriasis, and for those who later convert to psoriatic arthritis we’ll want to know if there’s alteration of their bacterial immunity, both in the gut and the skin," he explained.
Dr. Scher reported having no financial conflicts.