Porphyrin Production And Regulation In Cutaneous Propionibacteria
January 2020 (47 Words, 1 Minutes)
Shortly after graduating from UCLA, I was a research assistant in Dr. Huiying Li’s lab in the Molecular and Medical Pharmacolody Department at UCLA working on skin microbiome research.
I worked on a project investigating phenotypic variation in the production of a proinflammatory molecule (porphyrin) across strains of Propionibacterium acnes, the dominant resident skin bacterium. I performed an experiment to test the effect of vitamin B12 presence on porphyrin production levels by various strains of P. acnes and other Propionibacterium species. I cultured various P. acne type I, type II, and type III strain lines and other Propionibacterium species isolated from human skin samples. Bacteria were seeded, supplemented with a range of vitamin B 12 concentrations, and grown for 14 days. After 14 days, porphyrin was extracted, and levels measured. I analyzed the data I generated and found acne-associated type I strains produced higher levels of porphyrins than did health-associated type II and type III strains. In addition, vitamin B 12 supplementation stimulated an increased porphyrin production in acne associated type I strains compared to health-associated strains. The findings from this research reveal details regarding the pro-inflammatory potential of the skin microbiota and can be used as a guide to develop effective acne treatments by modulating bacterial community composition and metabolism in the skin microbiota.
Skills: molecular biology, bacterial culture, manuscript writing and editing