Miqdad Dhariwala - The Skin Microbiome: Commensal Tuning of Immune Function in Neonatal Barrier Tissues
 
Symbiotic relationships formed early in life with skin commensal microorganisms can promote health and restrict damaging inflammation. Understanding the cellular and molecular determinants of these interactions has the potential to inform novel therapeutic strategies for chronic inflammatory disease. Studies in my lab aim to understand the mechanisms by which commensal bacteria influence the functional dynamics of the developing myeloid immune compartment in neonatal skin and the consequences of these interactions for cutaneous health and disease. At the 33rd annual conference of the OLCA, I will present my work that demonstrates how commensal microbes recruit monocytes to the neonatal skin. Monocytes are typically considered to be an inflammatory myeloid immune cell, however my research has revealed a novel regulatory tissue function for these cells in the neonatal window of life. Transient monocyte depletion in the early life window rendered mice more susceptible to adverse inflammatory disease conditions like psoriasiform inflammation later in life. This demonstrates the role of monocytes in limiting adverse long-term inflammation in the tissue. Taken together my work demonstrates the importance of crosstalk between commensal microbes and the immune system in barrier tissues, especially in the neonatal window of life.