Acne is one of the most common skin diseases in the United States, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, affects up to 50 million Americans every year. It was also the least studied.
It is known that hair follicles help in the development of acne, but new research shows skin cells outside the hair follicles play a larger role. This finding was published in February 16, 2022 the problem of translational disease Cells are called fibroblasts, common in connective tissue throughout the body. On the skin, they produce antimicrobial peptides called cathelicidin, which plays a key role in the development of acne, said Gallo To fight infection in the hair follicle, the surrounding skin experiences a process called reactive adipogenesis in which fibroblasts turn into fat cells. Kathelicidin is also produced to help fight infection by pressing bacteria that can cause acne.
The discovery of the role of Kathelivisidin came as a surprise “We begin our research, we want to understand acne biology and specifically see the role of fibroblasts, which usually provide structural support for a deeper layer of skin,” said the first author Alan O’Neill, PhD, project scientist at UC San at UC San Diego Medical School . “What we found instead was that these cells were activated to produce a large number of antimicrobials, katesifidin, in response to bacteria that cause acne called Cutibacterium Acnes.
The research team featured skin biopsy in acne patients treated for several months with retinoids, chemical classes originating from vitamin A found to promote skin health. For surprise the researchers, the drug increases the expression of the valpidine after treatment, so that it finds an additional mechanism that is unknown why retinoids help treat acne.
To support these findings, the researchers studied skin lesions in mice injected with acne-causing bacteria and observing similar treatment responses in mice Kathelivisidin who is very revealed in the acne biopsy network is a very interesting finding for us,” Gallo said. “Knowing this will be very helpful in developing more targeted therapies to treat acne.”
At present, retinoid care focuses on controlling lipid development in skin cells. One of the main side effects of these drugs is their teratogenic effect, causing fetal abnormalities to pregnant people. This limits the use of these drugs only for severe cases. The research team hopes that these findings can help in developing a more targeted approach to treating acne This research can help identify new care options that specifically target fibroblast abilities to produce kathelivisidine,” O’Neill said. “Thus creating therapeutics for acne that will be more selective with potentially less dangerous side effects.”