PEG-8 Laurate Fermentation ofStaphylococcus epidermidisReduces the Required Dose of Clindamycin AgainstCutibacterium acnes

The probiotic activity of skinStaphylococcus epidermidis(S. epidermidis) bacteria can elicit diverse biological functions via the fermentation of various carbon sources. Here, we found that polyethylene glycol (PEG)-8 Laurate, a carbon-rich molecule, can selectively induce the fermentation ofS. epidermidis, notCutibacterium acnes(C. acnes), a bacterium associated with acne vulgaris. The PEG-8 Laurate fermentation ofS. epidermidisremarkably diminished the growth ofC. acnesand theC. acnes-induced production of pro-inflammatory macrophage-inflammatory protein 2 (MIP-2) cytokines in mice. Fermentation media enhanced the anti-C. acnesactivity of a low dose (0.1%) clindamycin, a prescription antibiotic commonly used to treat acne vulgaris, in terms of the suppression ofC. acnescolonization and MIP-2 production. Furthermore, PEG-8 Laurate fermentation ofS. epidermidisboosted the activity of 0.1% clindamycin to reduce the sizes ofC. acnescolonies. Our results demonstrated, for the first time, that the PEG-8 Laurate fermentation ofS. epidermidisdisplayed the adjuvant effect on promoting the efficacy of low-dose clindamycin againstC. acnes. TargetingC. acnesby lowering the required doses of antibiotics may avoid the risk of creating drug-resistantC. acnesand maintain the bacterial homeostasis in the skin microbiome, leading to a novel modality for the antibiotic treatment of acne vulgaris.