Researchers unravel genetic secrets that may pave the way for India-specific treatment of eczema

When a team of Indian geneticists and doctors dug deep into a common skin disease, they were surprised to see that it follows an altogether different trajectory in Indians, as compared to a known pathway seen among Westerners.

The discovery, they say, may pave the way for an India-specific treatment of eczema, an ailment that occurs in one out of every five kids in the country.

Eczema is caused by a variety of factors. Notable among them is atmospheric humidity that impacts on the dryness of the skin. There are genetic factors too, as genes that affect the structural integrity of the skin occur more frequently among persons suffering from eczema.

As Indian researchers investigated the disease, they realised that known underlying genetic factors were not at work among Indians even though the desi population was getting exactly the same disease.

So how did Indians receive the disease? For nearly three years, the team probed this question taking samples from 35 eczema patients and compared them with 50 healthy individuals. They ultimately found the answer in the microbiome, a colony of microbes that lives on the skin.

“We found there is a complete separation of Staphylococcus species between eczema patients and healthy individuals. Patients with eczema have only Staphylococcus aureus species, while healthy controls have only Staphylococcus hominis species,” Souvik Mukherjee, a scientist at the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani and one of the team members told DH.

The two species don’t cohabit the colony as S.hominis kills the other one. S.aureus, on the other hand, releases an enzyme that neutralises a protein that degrades the skin and is responsible for the disease.

Mukherjee collaborated with researchers and clinicians at the Unilever R&D, Bangalore; Calcutta Medical College and Hospital and College of Medicine and Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Hospital, Kalyani, for a better understanding of the disease so that an antidote in the form of a probiotic lotion or cream for topical application can be developed.

"It took us three years to find out the cause of the manifestation of the disease among Indians. It may take another 2-3 years to find a solution. We now have a starting point, which is a very good starting point” said another team member Rupak Mitra from Unilever R&D.

The scientists are also excited because for the first time they report a host-microbiome interaction for such patients. The level of microbiome disruptions is associated with the genetic makeup of the patient. “This is a novel finding, hitherto unreported from anywhere in the world,” said Mukherjee.

The study would be published shortly in a journal titled Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology.