Both Lesional and Non-Lesional Skin from Acne Patients Shows Robust IL-17-Skewing and Upregulation of Antimicrobial Peptides

The study, involving 56 mild-to-moderate acne patients and 20 age-matched controls, found that both lesional and non-lesional skin from acne patients exhibited significant immune cell infiltration and increased mRNA expression of Th17-related cytokines and antimicrobial peptides, compared to controls. Th2 markers were not significantly upregulated. The data indicated that acne-affected skin, as well as seemingly unaffected skin in acne patients, showed a strong Th17 immune response and increased antimicrobial activity, which was associated with heightened neutrophil infiltration and activation of Th1 and innate immune responses. These findings suggest that treatments targeting the IL-17/IL23/IL-36 pathway might be effective for acne patients.