Researchers in France and Austria have discovered that skin bacteria can directly interfere in the protection against radiation that usually causes sunburn.  

The researchers had found that bacteria in the skin microbiome influence how UV radiation affects the immune response, but they did not know how. 

The study from CIRI and the Medical University of Graz showed that certain bacteria in mice skin can use a molecule produced in response to UVB radiation for growth.  

This molecule, called uronic acid, is known to lead to immune suppression. By using and destroying this molecule, the bacteria increase the skin’s immune protection against UVB radiation in mice.  

Marc Vocanson, co-leader of the study, from CIRI, in France, said: “Understanding these microbe-host interactions could reshape the way we think about sun protection, immune diseases, skin cancer, or even treatments like phototherapy”.  

This research was published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.