Malin Assarsson, Jan Söderman, Olaf Dienus, Oliver Seifert
DOI: 10.2340/00015555-3619

Studies have shown differences in the skin and gut bacterial microbiomes in patients with psoriasis, but the pharyngeal microbiome has not been studied previously. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in the bacterial microbiome of the pharynx and skin of patients with psoriasis compared with healthy controls. Swabs were taken from the pharynx and elbow skin of 39 patients with psoriasis and 70 controls. Microbiomes were characterized by sequencing 16S rRNA genes on the Illumina MiSeq platform. Significant differences were found in alpha and beta diversity in the skin, but not in the pharynx. Significant differences were also found between several phyla and genera in both skin and pharynx. The severity of psoriasis did not correlate with any genera in the pharynx, but with Capnocytophaga, Leptotrichia, Abiotrophia and Tannerella in the skin. The composition of the pharyn­geal and skin microbiome may be of importance in the patho­genesis of psoriasis.

Psoriasis is thought to be linked to dysbiosis of the microbiome of the gut and skin. This study analysed samples from the pharynx and elbow skin of 39 patients with psoriasis and 70 controls and found differences in both alpha and beta diversity. The severity of psoriasis did not correlate with any specific bacteria in the pharynx, but did correlate with several types of bacteria in the skin. The composition of the pharyngeal and skin microbiome may be of importance in the pathogenesis of psoriasis.

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