biostudies-literatureLei YMNIAID127569https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC6693824biostudies-literatureUnknown5Solid organ transplantation can treat end-stage organ failure, but the half-life of transplanted organs colonized with commensals is much shorter than that of sterile organs. Whether organ colonization plays a role in this shorter half-life is not known. We have previously shown that an intact whole-body microbiota can accelerate the kinetics of solid organ allograft rejection in untreated colonized mice when compared to germ-free (GF) or to antibiotic-pre-treated colonized mice, by enhancing the capacity of antigen presenting cells (APCs) to activate graft-reactive T cells. However, the contribution of intestinal versus skin microbiota to these effects was unknown. Here, we demonstrate that colonizing the skin of GF mice with a single commensal, Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epi), while JCI insightSkin-restricted commensal colonization accelerates skin graft rejection.PMC6693824R01AI115716Chong ASAlegre MLChen LTheriault BBelkaid YSepulveda MLei YMWang YPirozzolo IfalseSkin-restricted commensal colonization accelerates skin graft rejection.Solid organ transplantation can treat end-stage organ failure, but the half-life of transplanted organs colonized with commensals is much shorter than that of sterile organs. Whether organ colonization plays a role in this shorter half-life is not known. We have previously shown that an intact whole-body microbiota can accelerate the kinetics of solid organ allograft rejection in untreated colonized mice when compared to germ-free (GF) or to antibiotic-pre-treated colonized mice, by enhancing the capacity of antigen presenting cells (APCs) to activate graft-reactive T cells. However, the contribution of intestinal versus skin microbiota to these effects was unknown. Here, we demonstrate that colonizing the skin of GF mice with a single commensal, Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epi), while 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z2019 Jul2025-04-04T19:04:54.155Z2019-08-26T07:02:35ZS-EPMC66938243131059010.1172/jci.insight.127569