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A new study has found that long-term use of antibiotics among teenagers to treat acne can damage the healthy microbiome and block the metabolism that breaks down fat. A research team led by Professor Chad Novins from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in the United States published the results of this study in the international journal ‘Journal of the American Pathologist’ on the 9th (local time).
The microbiome, an ecological environment containing a number of micro-organisms, influences the physiological changes that occur during adolescent development. Acne, inflammation of the sebaceous glands, is a representative physiological change resulting from the influence of the microbiome.
The research team pointed out that it is not clear how long-term use of minocycline, an antibiotic most commonly used to treat acne, affects the formation of a healthy microbiome in adolescence. It is usually necessary to take minocycline, which inhibits bacterial protein synthesis and has an antibacterial effect, for two years to see an effect on acne. According to the research team, 25% of adolescents who receive treatment for acne in the United States take this drug.
The research team conducted an experiment to confirm the effect of long-term antibiotics such as minocycline on the developmental process of adolescence. Minocycline was given to laboratory mice that had grown to the level of human adolescence, and changes in the microbiome were confirmed.
As a result of the analysis, the genes that break down fat and cholesterol were not expressed correctly in mice administered with minocycline. Since fat and cholesterol were not easily broken down, adipose tissue increased 4 times compared to mice that did not receive the drug.
The research team explained that minocycline changed the composition of the microbiome associated with the signal to secrete bile acids in the intestine, causing abnormalities in the gene. Bile acids work in the liver and small intestine to digest and absorb fat. The microbiome, which helps to move bile acids, was not working properly, and the gene was changed in a form that causes fat gain. Minocycline was found to have a particularly large effect on two microorganisms that affect the transport of bile acids.
Professor Novins, who led the study, said, “Antibiotics used to treat teenage acne have been shown to have long-term effects on metabolism and, later, obesity risk and have been confirmed, ” he said.
The research team added that it should be noted that an increase in adipose tissue occurred after administration of minocycline. It is explained that follow-up studies are needed to discover the cause of the delay until changes in the microbiome caused by long-term use of antibiotics affect the body.
Lipid changes in mice not administered minocycline (left) and mice administered minocycline (right). The part marked in yellow is subcutaneous fat and the part marked in green is visceral fat. Provided by the University of South Carolina, USA
