Typically the human skin has a host of skin microbiota also known as skin flora that resides on its surface especially in the epidermis and the upper parts of the hair follicles. Skin flora is usually not harmful and offers many mutual benefits. One such benefit discovered by scientists is that skin microbiome has a protective effect against skin cancer.
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Scientists from the University of California San Diego School Of Medicine identified a strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis which is commonly found on human skin which selectively inhibits the growth of some cancers.
The scientists discovered that the S. epidermidis produces a chemical compound called 6-N-hydroxyaminopurine (6-HAP).
In mice studies, mice that received intravenous injections of 6-HAP every 48 hours for two weeks, experienced no apparent toxic effects but when melanoma cells were transplanted the tumour size decreases by more than 50 percent compared to controls.
Mice with S. epidermidis on their skin that did not make 6-HAP had many tumours after being exposed to cancer causing ultraviolet rays. Mice with the S. epidermidis that produced 6-HAP did not have any tumours.
6-HAP is a molecule that mars the creation of DNA, known as DNA synthesis. It prevents the spread of cancerous tumour cells as well as the potential to suppress development of UV-induced skin tumours.
The researchers believe that S. epidermidis gives a protective effect against some forms of cancer and further studies are needed to understand how 6-HAP is produced and if it can be used in the prevention of cancer and if the loss of 6-HAP can increase cancer risk.
The findings of this study add another layer to the body of evidence that skin microbiome has a protective effect against skin cancer and on human health.
Source: Science Advances
