The researchers found that many new strains of Cutibacterium acnes, a species believed to contribute to the development of acne, are acquired during the early teenage years. But after that, the makeup of these populations becomes very stable and doesn’t change much even when exposed to new strains.
That suggests that this transitional stage could be the best window for introducing probiotic strains of C. acnes, says Tami Lieberman, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, a member of MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, and the senior author of the study.
“We found that there are some surprising dynamics, and these dynamics provide insights for how to design probiotic therapy,” Lieberman says. “If we had a strain that we knew could prevent acne, these results would suggest we should make sure we apply them early during the transition to adulthood, to really get them to engraft.”
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