image from original BBC article
So I was catching up on some news over the Thanksgiving weekend and came across an interesting article on the health benefits of playing in dirt!
It seems scientists from the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, have determined there is harmless bacteria in dirt that actually helps our skin control overly aggressive inflammation.
Researchers found a common [harmless] bacterial species, known as Staphylococci, blocked a vital step in a cascade of events that led to inflammation.
By studying mice and human cells, they found the harmless bacteria did this by making a molecule called lipoteichoic acid or LTA, which acted on keratinocytes – the main cell types found in the outer layer of the skin.The LTA keeps the keratinocytes in check, stopping them from mounting an aggressive inflammatory response.
Head of the research Professor Richard Gallo said: “The exciting implication of the work is that it provides a molecular basis to understand the hygiene hypothesis and has uncovered elements of the wound repair response that were previously unknown.
“This may help us devise new therapeutic approaches for inflammatory skin diseases.”
In addition, it would seem this finding helps provide an explanation for the “hygiene hypothesis”, which holds that exposure to germs during early childhood primes the body against allergies.
While more research is certainly necessary, it is interesting to note that cases of childhood allergies are on a steep incline…and apparently right in step with our increased use of anti-bacterial hand sanitizers – products that would undoubtedly kill, or greatly reduce, the positive effects of good bacteria.
The study was published in the online edition of Nature Medicine.
