Research Project 1: The microbiome of chronic and acute wounds in Epidermolysis bullosa

Kövilein, J.B. (2015) Research Project 1: The microbiome of chronic and acute wounds in Epidermolysis bullosa. Master's Thesis / Essay, Biology.

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Abstract

Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is an inherited, complex genetic disease characterized by chronic wounds and blister formation upon simple mechanical trauma. Different mutations have been identified causing different severities of EB. There are four types, which can be differentiated on the basis of different mutated genes and the histological localization of the blisters. Commonly, open wounds resulting from minor trauma are colonised by different bacteria, indicating a risk to develop a systemic infection and sepsis. Bacterial wound colonisation also interferes in major ways with proper wound healing. Despite the advances of the analysis of microbiomes by DNA sequencing (16S rRNA), the organisms that play an important role in impaired wound healing are still ambiguous. In this study, Illumina MiSeq reads of healthy skin flora were compared with chronic wounds and acute wounds of EB patients with different severities of the disease. Diversity analyses showed that the wound samples are less diverse than the healthy skin samples. The most common bacteria isolated from chronic wounds of EB patients are Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In acute wounds S. aureus and Streptococcus dysgalactiae are the most common species. Furthermore, the amount of S. aureus is higher in acute than in chronic wounds. In general, Staphylococci, Streptococci, and Corynebacteria are present in higher amounts in acute wounds than in chronic. Principal Component Analysis showed a clear separation of milder forms of EB from more severe forms according to their microbiome. The more severe EB types, such as RDEB and Herlitz JEB, have higher amounts of S. aureus, while the milder forms, such as EBS and non-Herlitz JEB, have higher amounts of P. aeruginosa.

Item Type:	Thesis (Master's Thesis / Essay)
Degree programme:	Biology
Thesis type:	Master's Thesis / Essay
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	15 Feb 2018 08:03
Last Modified:	15 Feb 2018 08:03
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/12661

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