Phase 1 Study of Whether Host Preconditioning Modifies Short-term Transplant Survival

Unlike healthy control skin, the skin of patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) is frequently colonized by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), putting these patients at increased risk of S. aureus skin infections. In addition, research in the investigator's lab has shown that these patients have fewer protective antimicrobial Staphylococcal species such as Staphylococcal epidermidis (S. epidermidis) known to produce antimicrobial peptides that play a role in protecting the skin from invading pathogens. In this study, the investigator will attempt to decrease S. aureus colonization and increase colonization by protective Staph species. First the investigator will culture the bacteria on subjects' lesional AD skin. The investigator will selectively grow the subject's antimicrobial Staph colonies and place them into a base moisturizer. The moisturizer plus bacteria will be applied to both of the subject's arms. Prior to applying this, though, one arm will first be pre-treated with an antimicrobial regiment of Dial liquid antibacterial soap and alcohol. We will then compare the abundance of antimicrobial Staph species on each subject's arms 24 hours later to determine whether the pre-treatment regimen increased survival of the transplanted antimicrobial Staph species. The investigator expects that the arm pre-treated with the antimicrobial regimen will have more antimicrobial Staph species at this time point.