Aim. Study transformation of skin microflora during development of atopic dermatitis. Materials and methods. 45 patients with various forms of atopic dermatitis (AtD) were examined. Control group consisted of 26 healthy individuals. The strains were cultivated on elective nutrient media. Identification of the isolated strains was carried out by MALDI-TOF mass-spectrometry method. Results. A low frequency of occurrence of taxon Staphylococcus epidermidis on face skin and high frequency of occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus on upper and lower limb skin was established for AtD patients compared with healthy individuals. The frequency of occurrence of proteolytically active isolates of S. aureus in AtD patients was 3 times higher than in healthy carriers of this taxon. Taxons of microorganisms not inherent to healthy individuals such as Bacillus mycoides, Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas radiobacter were isolated on lower limb and neck skin of AtD patients. A high frequency of occurrence of Cryptococcus satoi, Candida albicans, Malassezia globosa fungi was noted. Conclusion. A decrease of barrier functions of skin during AtD facilitates contamination of patients’ skin with rare bacterial taxons and fungi. One of the possible mechanisms of suppression of immune competent cell functions could be proteolytic enzymes of S. aureus.
MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry identification of yeast-form fungi: a comparison between methods
