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. 2024 Aug 16;13(16):4846.
doi: 10.3390/jcm13164846.

Bacteria, Fungi, and Scalp Psoriasis: Understanding the Role of the Microbiome in Disease Severity

Jin-Young Choi  1 , Hyunseong Kim  2   3 , Kyung-Hyun Min  1 , Woo-Hyun Song  2 , Dong-Soo Yu  1 , Minho Lee  2 , Young-Bok Lee  1   4
Affiliations

Bacteria, Fungi, and Scalp Psoriasis: Understanding the Role of the Microbiome in Disease Severity

Jin-Young Choi et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition affected by genetic and environmental factors. Changes in the skin microbiome may affect the immune system and skin barrier functions, thereby contributing to the development and progression of psoriasis. The scalp, which is a common site for psoriasis, is often resistant to therapy. Although several studies have investigated the scalp microbiome, analyses focusing on both bacteria and fungi remain scarce. Methods: We examined the scalp microbiomes of 11 patients with psoriasis complicated with scalp lesions and categorized them according to their Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) scores. The bacterial and fungal data were analyzed using QIIME2 pipeline version 2021.04 and the UNITE database version 8.3, respectively. Results: The Shannon indices for mild (2 patients), moderate (4 patients), and severe (5 patients) groups were 0.97, 1.38, and 1.88, respectively. A significant correlation was observed between increased mycobiome diversity and disease severity (p = 4.07 × 10-5, Spearman's correlation: 0.9269). Compared with the mild and moderate groups, the severe group exhibited a higher abundance of Malassezia globosa. Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus were, respectively, more prevalent in the moderate and severe groups than in the mild group. Conclusions: This study highlights the potential role of increased fungal diversity and specific microbial compositions in the severity of scalp psoriasis, suggesting a possible avenue for targeted therapeutic interventions.

Keywords: bacteria; fungus; microbiome; mycobiome; psoriasis; scalp psoriasis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The fungal (A,B) and bacterial (C,D) Shannon indices according to the severity of the disease. *: p < 0.05 and ns: p > 0.05.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Correlation of the mycobiome with the bacterial microbiome. The principal component analysis plot showing the correlation between bacterial and fungal Shannon indices (A), the relative abundance of Pseudomonas and M. globosa (B), and the relative abundance of Pseudomonas and the fungal Shannon index (C).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Taxonomic bar plot showing the relative abundance of Malassezia and other genera (A) and bacteria (B) in patients with scalp psoriasis, according to the severity of the condition.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Relative abundance of Malassezia restricta (A) and Malassezia globosa (B) according to disease severity. The ratio of Malassezia globosa to Malassezia restricta in each severity group (C). The colors used in the figures are as follows: Green indicates the mild severity group, orange represents the moderate severity group, and red denotes the severe severity group. ns: p > 0.05.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Relative abundance of the genera Pseudomonas (A), Staphylococcus (B), and Diaphorobacter (C) according to disease severity. The colors used in the figures are as follows: green indicates the mild severity group, orange represents the moderate severity group, and red denotes the severe severity group. ns: p > 0.05.
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