The onset and exacerbation of acne (acne vulgaris), which afflicts many people during puberty, is related to the overgrowth of Cutibacteirum acnes, a resident skin bacterium.Therefore, antibacterial drugs that suppress the growth of P. acnes are used to treat acne, but acne bacteria that have acquired drug resistance are increasing all over the world, and there is concern that the therapeutic effect will decrease.In addition, since antibacterial drugs inhibit the growth of not only P. acnes but also other skin-indigenous bacteria, there is a risk of causing disruption of normal skin flora.

　In this study, we focused on antibacterial peptides produced by bacteria as seeds to overcome the disadvantages of conventional antibacterial agents.As a result of searching for a new antibacterial peptide that inhibits the growth of P. acnes, we found avidumicin produced by Cutibacteirum avidum, a type of skin indigenous fungus.

　It was confirmed that Avidumicin acted only on some related species, including P. acnes, and had little effect on other indigenous bacteria.In addition, the efficacy was confirmed against drug-resistant P. acnes isolated from actual acne patients.

　Antimicrobial peptides are known to have an extremely low risk of emergence of drug-resistant bacteria compared to antimicrobial agents.From the above, acne treatment with the antibacterial peptide Avidumicin can be expected to avoid the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, and by exhibiting a specific antibacterial action, it can also be expected to avoid the breakdown of the skin flora.It is expected to be used as a new anti-acne drug that overcomes the disadvantages of existing antibacterial drug treatments.

Paper information:[The Journal of Antibiotics] Avidumicin, a novel cyclic bacteriocin, produced by Cutibacterium avidum shows anti-Cutibacterium acnes activity