Does skin have antimicrobial properties? An in-vitro experiment and literature review.
Skin grafts placed over burn wounds were first reported to reduce bacterial growth levels about 20 years ago. Recently, three separate groups of investigators have studied effects of skin in vitro in order to better understand the mechanism of this in vivo phenomenon. Although significant bacterial inhibition was not found, the interaction of host tissue factors with the skin which is possible in vivo was not included in these experiments. Hence, the question of in vitro activity of skin was still not resolved. In this experiment human and pig skin, fresh and preserved, intact and homogenated, were all tested separately with and without active serum against four representative bacteria and one fungus, individually and in mixed cultures. No growth inhibition was observed under any circumstances on daily review for up to three-week periods. In light of conflicting reports related to antibacterial effects of skin grafts used clinically, it now seems important to definitively clarify whether skin really possesses antibacterial properties in vivo.
D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development; D003165:Complement System Proteins; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D013552:Swine; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous
D003165:Complement System Proteins