Abrocitinib Improves Skin Microbiome in Atopic Dermatitis: Study
Researchers have found in a new study that treatment with abrocitinib, a selective JAK-1 inhibitor, was associated with favorable changes in the skin microbiome of patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. The most notable effects were a reduction in Staphylococcus aureus abundance and an increase in overall microbial diversity, suggesting that abrocitinib may help restore a healthier skin microbial environment. The study was published in the European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology by Madeline K. and colleagues.
The longitudinal effect of JAK1 inhibitor administration on the skin microbial community was assessed using secondary biomarker analysis of patient samples enrolled in the placebo-controlled JADE MOA study (NCT03915496). For this, 43 adults with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis were randomly allocated to daily oral abrocitinib treatment at doses of 100 mg or 200 mg or placebo for 12 weeks. At baseline and at post-baseline weeks 2, 4, and 12, skin swab samples were obtained from patients' lesional skin areas.
Bacterial DNA was extracted and sequenced using high-throughput 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to establish the exact taxonomic distribution, alpha (diversity within a sample) and beta (differences between groups) diversities. Sequencing data were carefully compared with clinically measured parameters of disease severity and systemic markers of inflammation and skin barrier dysfunction.
Key findings:
- The genomic microbiome analysis of 43 patients participating in abrocitinib (100 mg and 200 mg) and placebo arms of the study was performed successfully.
- At Week 12, there was an increase in skin bacterial alpha diversity for those patients who were under once-daily abrocitinib 200 mg therapy as compared to their baseline value.
- Analysis of beta diversity demonstrated spatial clustering of abrocitinib arms away from the placebo arm starting from Week 2 and further divergence between them up to Week 12.
- There was a reduction in relative abundance of total Staphylococcus bacteria and Staphylococcus aureus in a dose-dependent manner from Week 2 to Week 12 under abrocitinib therapy.
- Positive changes in microbial profile correlated with the improvement in disease severity, inflammation, and skin barrier parameters.
Finally, daily treatment with abrocitinib effectively reverses the condition of dysbiosis of the microbes in moderate to severe atopic dermatitis by significantly lowering the load of Staphylococcus aureus and increasing the diversity of the microbiomes. The rapid divergence of bacterial populations as early as Week 2 indicates the effect of dual actions of abrocitinib in suppressing immune-mediated inflammation while restoring the skin microbial environment.
Reference:
M. Kim, E. Del Duca, J. Correa Da Rosa, et al., “ Effect of Abrocitinib on the Skin Microbiome in Patients With Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis,” Allergy (2026): 1–9, https://doi.org/10.1111/all.70467.
