<i>Propionibacterium acnes</i> in the Pathogenesis and Immunotherapy of Acne Vulgaris

Abstract

Acne vulgaris, a multi-factorial disease, is one of the most common skin diseases, affecting an estimated 80% of Americans at some point during their lives. The gram-positive and anaerobic Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) bacterium has been implicated in acne inflammation and pathogenesis. Therapies for acne vulgaris using antibiotics generally lack bacterial specificity, promote the generation of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, and cause adverse effects. Immunotherapy against P. acnes or its antigens (sialidase and CAMP factor) has been demonstrated to be effective in mice, attenuating P. acnes-induced inflammation; thus, this method may be applied to develop a potential vaccine targeting P. acnes for acne vulgaris treatment. This review summarizes reports describing the role of P. acnes in the pathogenesis of acne and various immunotherapy-based approaches targeting P. acnes, suggesting the potential effectiveness of immunotherapy for acne vulgaris as well as P. acnes-associated diseases.

Corynebacterium tuberculostearicum, a human skin colonizer, induces the canonical nuclear factor‐κB inflammatory signaling pathway in human skin cells

“…[5][6][7][8][9] For example, colonization of the skin by Propionibacterium acnes is causally related to facial acne. 10,11 In turn, the inflammatory and metabolic status of the host regulate the functional impact of microbes. 12 Furthermore, host genetic factors are determinants of a skin microbiota predisposing to skin health or pathology; for example, the skin of patients with atopic dermatitis, a genetic disease related etiologically to mutations of the filaggrin (FLG) gene, demonstrates increased colonization with Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. e.).…”

“…Corynebacterium tuberculostearicum (C. t.) increases TLR 2 expression, and TLR 2 siRNA reduces TNF mRNA induced by C. t. or FSL1 in HEKs. RT-PCR analysis of mRNA expression of TLR(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10) in HEKs infected with C. t. or Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. e.) for 6 hours (A, left panel). Fluorescent micrographs of control (Ctrl), C. t.-or S. e.-infected HEKs were immunoprobed with TLR 2 antibody (red).…”

Hardware Failure and Non-union Due to Chronic Propionibacterium acnes Osteomyelitis of the Clavicle: A Case Report

“…P. acnes is a low-virulence, anaerobic gram positive organism most widely known for its role in acne vulgaris [8]. However, it has also been noted as a cause of infection of a variety of implants, including cardiac devices and intracranial shunts [2,9].…”

Role of Cytokines in the Pathogenesis of Acne

“…[1,20] It has also been revealed that P.acnes antigens activate the complement system and provide the migration of free radicals, neutrophils, and macrophages in PSUs with the following production of proteolytic enzymes, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-8, and TNF-γ, which causes inflammation and a complex cascade of pathogenetic mechanisms of disease. [5,[20][21][22] However, the role of cellular and humoral immunity and cytokine activity in acne is still a subject of studies.…”