Microbiome and Epigenetics

Evolving human biology and changing the way we care for our skin.

by Dr. Barbara Brockway

Skin Diligent was born from 4 years of research and study into the rapidly growing fields of the microbiome and epigenetics.

Most scientific discoveries are like small steps forward (or backward) that gradually expand our knowledge. Sometimes, a threshold is crossed: when the sum of these small steps reaches a tipping point in knowledge and reveals a new truth. This new truth can be an instrument, a method, or a scientific law that changes the course of human history.

Imagine for a moment that in the 17th century, Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek allowed you to observe a drop of pond water through his microscope. Suddenly and for the first time, you see many tiny animated creatures, all invisible to the naked eye. The microscope opened a window to a new world and was a key phase in the birth of microbiology and our understanding of diseases. Its use changed lives, and over 350 years later, it remains a fundamental piece of equipment in many laboratories.

Leeuwenhoek's microscopes introduced us to a whole new micro-world. Today, DNA technology and genomics allow us to go even further in discovering new truths, challenging traditional thinking by generating exciting areas of research, such as the microbiome and epigenetics.

The Microbiome

Based on the results of culturing microbes on agar plates and in other media, it was once thought that the skin harbored only about a dozen different types of microbes. In 1976, Kligman and colleagues published a paper stating that "the native cutaneous microflora is simple, and the same organisms are present in all areas, albeit in very different numbers." By 2007, scientists knew that the skin microbiome was far from simple. DNA technology had made it possible to amplify, identify, and quantify a very large number of different bacteria, fungi, and viruses from samples taken from the skin. It was soon recognized that these microbial communities impacted skin health.

Our skin hosts a complex microbiome composed of thousands of different bacteria. We now know that the composition of this microbiome is unique and dynamic. Its microbial population fluctuates depending on the external environment and changes in our skin.

Our microbiome is an ecology that acts as an invisible and essential protective shield. It can dampen the harmful effects of environmental aggressors while remaining hostile to opportunistic invasive microbes. Like any ecological system, a healthy microbiome is rich in many different species that interact with each other and, in the case of the skin microbiome, with our skin.

Skin problems can arise when the balance of these different bacterial species begins to shift and a few species gain the upper hand. This is called dysbiosis. Major imbalances in the skin microbiome population can trigger inflammation, redness, blemishes, etc. It is now clear that the traditional approach of targeting "bad" microbes such as C. acnes bacteria is misguided. Far from curing the problem, eliminating key species disrupts the ecology and can lead to dysbiosis, thereby worsening the situation.

The new approach to skin care is to work in harmony with our microbiome and rebalance situations of dysbiosis. This is Skin Diligent's approach: their products nourish and encourage microbiome biodiversity while addressing the skin's needs. In this sense, it is a pioneering cosmetic brand.

Epigenetics

Nutrition and lifestyle are particularly important when discussing epigenetics. The Greek prefix epi- in epigenetics means "on top of" our genetics. In other words, epigenetics refers to additional molecules added to or associated with our genetic DNA, which control how our genes are put into action. Two identical twins (MZ) share the same DNA, but they are not completely identical. Similarly, the nuclei of almost all our cells contain the same unique DNA sequences, but our cells can behave differently.

Skin cells, for example, look and function very differently from our liver cells. These differences are due to epigenetic changes that control how our DNA (genes) is expressed in each cell type. Epigenetic modifications begin very early in the embryo and accumulate with age. They can be influenced by environmental pressures, hence the importance of lifestyle and diet. At the molecular level, epigenetic modifications can be equivalent to on-off "switches" or even adjustable "dimmers."

Some epigenetic changes are transient while others are permanent. They can be transferred when cells divide. For example, the epigenetic modifications that determine that a cell is a skin cell are passed on to the next generation of skin cells, each time it divides. Some epigenetic modifications are even transmissible between generations; a molecular memory is then passed on to offspring and grandchildren.

"The most important concept of epigenetics is that you can take control of your genes," says Professor Trygve Tollefsbol, Senior Research Scientist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Actives and Nutrients

The field of epigenetics leads us to take a closer look at how cosmetic actives and nutrients influence gene expression (both the expression of our own genes and those of our microbiome). For example, a cosmetic active and a nutrient such as vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is generally considered an antioxidant. But vitamin C is much more than its "chemistry." It is an essential nutrient that cannot be replaced by a similar antioxidant. Thanks to new DNA techniques, we are beginning to understand why: vitamin C upregulates the expression of certain proteins, some of which are responsible for initiating essential immune responses.

Since 2011, when the concept of an "epigenetic diet" was first discussed, cosmetic actives and nutrients have been scrutinized to identify their effects on gene expression. Examples include isothiocyanates in broccoli, genistein in soy, or quercetin in berries, bioactive molecules that have positive health effects by modifying gene expression.

Like the microscopic creatures living in pond water, the microbiome and epigenetics have always been there; only the techniques to discover them were missing. And now that we know their importance for skin health and can take control of them, we see Skin Diligent changing the way we care for our skin, supporting it from the inside and out.