Materials and methods for improving immune responses and skin and/or mucosal barrier functions
The subject invention provides compositions and methods for treating human dermatological conditions by employing a microbiome-centered treatment approach. Preferred embodiments of the invention provide pharmaceutical and cosmetic compositions, and the methods of using the same, comprising a strain of Lactobacillus fermentum bacterium, or bioactive extracts thereof, derived from human microbiota and capable of growing in biofilm phenotype.
1. A method for inhibiting microbial growth on a surface, wherein the method comprises applying to the surface a microbial growth-inhibiting amount of a composition comprising a bioactive Lactobacillus fermentum strain having an Accession No. PTA-122195 grown as a biofilm.
2. The method, according to claim 1 , wherein the surface is skin.
3. The method, according to claim 2 , wherein skin barrier function is enhanced.
4. The method, according to claim 2 , wherein the composition acts as an agonist of PPAR.
5. The method, according to claim 1 , wherein the composition further comprises alcohol.
6. The method, according to claim 1 , wherein the method promotes the growth of commensal bacteria.
7. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the commensal bacteria are Staphylococcus epidermidis.
8. The method, according to claim 1 , wherein the surface is an inanimate surface.
9. The method, according to claim 1 , wherein the method inhibits the growth of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
10. The method, according to claim 1 , wherein the method inhibits the growth of a pathogenic microbe and promotes the growth of commensal bacteria.