Characterisation of the bacterial microbiome in patients with rosacea and healthy controls.

Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder that significantly impairs quality of life, however, its pathophysiology is still unclear. Previous studies have suspected that the bacterial -microbiome plays a causative role in the disease. To investigate whether there are differences in the abundance and diversity of facial bacterial microbiomes between rosacea patients and healthy controls. Samples of facial microorganisms from subjects were collected with sterile swabs, and the V3 and V4 regions of bacterial 16S rRNA were amplified and sequenced using the MiSeq platform of the Illumina system. A total of 44 samples qualified (including 17 in the case group and 27 in the control group), comprising 2,048 operational taxonomic units belonging to 40 phyla and 1,312 species that were clustered. The alpha diversity in patients with rosacea was higher than that in healthy controls, but this difference was not statistically significant. In addition, compared with healthy individuals, the mean relative abundance of Cutibacterium acens was significantly lower (61.79% vs 79.69%, p=0.014) and that of Staphylococcus epidermidis was higher (19.64% vs 6.48%, p=0.036) in rosacea patients. Changes in microbial abundance and diversity correlate with the pathogenesis of rosacea.