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Background: Acne vulgaris (AV) is a common skin disorder that affects up 10% of the worldwide population. Its pathogenesis involves a complex interplay of factors, leading to the development of cutaneous lesions (papules, pustules, and comedones). This clinical trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a specific probiotic formulation composed by Lactiplantibacillus plantarum PBS067, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus LRH020, and Limosilactobacillus reuteri PBS072 in improving AV symptoms in adult subject from the APAC region. Materials and methods: A double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical study was carried out on 64 women supplemented for 56 days plus a follow-up period. Instrumental evaluations of different skin parameters and clinical assessments of lesions were performed at 28 and 56 days after supplementation (T28 and T56, respectively) and during follow-up (T70). Results: A significant increase in skin hydration was achieved by probiotic group compared to the placebo (p < 0.05). An improved trend in sebum content and pH resulted in a statistically significant difference with respect to placebo (p < 0.05 for the former parameter at T28 and T70; p < 0.05 for the latter at T70). A progressive decrement of lesions was demonstrated at each endpoint considered by probiotic supplementation, reaching significant values for non-inflammatory ones at T56 and T70 (p < 0.05 and p < s0.01, respectively). Conclusions: This specific probiotic formulation may help improving acne symptoms, offering a possible adjuvant therapy to the conventional one and thus overall ameliorating the patient’s quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methicillin-resistant biofilm-forming Staphylococcus spp. are found in about 25% of the overall cases of chronic wounds, which can undergo malignant degeneration and be associated with skin cancer. Although antimicrobial agents are clinically used to counteract pathogens and promote wound healing, they are increasingly ineffective against multi-drug resistant bacteria. Moreover, they can induce dysbiosis, which favors opportunistic pathogen infections and alters immune responses. Consequently, research on pathogen containment strategies is crucial. We aimed to evaluate the potential beneficial effect of Lactobacillus johnsonii LJO02 cell-free supernatant (CFS) and vitamin D, as single treatments or in combination, on cell viability, wound healing, and the pro-inflammatory interleukin-6 (IL-6) production of a Staphylococcus aureus-infected human immortalized keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) in vitro model. The analysis showed that LJO02 CFS 20% v/v ratio and 100 nM vitamin D promoted infected cell viability and wound healing and significantly reduced IL-6 production. However, their effect was not synergic, since no significant difference between the single and combined treatments was observed. LJO02 CFS topic application and vitamin D supplementation could provide a valuable strategy for attenuating S. aureus-induced pathogenesis, promoting wound healing and opening new therapeutic strategies supporting the conventional approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To evaluate OPN, MCM7, Ki-67, p53, Bcl-2 and 53BP1 presence, together with the abnormal adaptive CD4 and CD8 T-cell response markers expression in a series of oral lichen planus (OLP) affected patients and assess their combined contribution for a more objective disease classification., Methods and Results: In this ex-vivo retrospective analysis, biopsy specimens from 28 adults with a clinical diagnosis of OLP at different progression degree (16 reticular, 2 plaque-like, 1 erosive and 9 mixed type) were collected. Sections were immunohistochemically investigated for the proinflammatory cytokine osteopontin (OPN), alpha-beta CD4 and CD8 positive T cells, DNA replication licensing factor (MCM7), proliferating cell marker (Ki-67), apoptotic and tumor antigen (p53), apoptosis modulator (Bcl-2) and cellular response regulator to double-strand breaks tumor suppressor p53-binding protein 1 expression. Statistical analysis revealed that 53BP1 is highly represented among the OLP study patients (p<0.05). Moreover, on the basis of the quantification results of the highly expressed parameters, two illness categories with different severity were evidenced. The classification hypothesis was confirmed by i) OLP lesion persistence, ii) the development of oral severe lesions in the patients belonging to high grade activity OLP group (HGA-OLPs) and iii) the ascertainment of the same evidence both in the oral squamous cell tumor controls (OSCC) and in HGA-OLP cases., Conclusion: This study completes the scenario with respect to early detection, thanks to a more precise histological analysis, for rationalizing the clinical and histological findings toward a sharable international disease scoring system.