Different cutaneous innate immunity profiles in acne patients with and without atrophic scars

Background

Acne is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with scar development in many patients.

Objectives

To check whether early inflammatory events in the epidermis via keratinocytes influence the development of scars in acne patients.

Methods

We investigated several immunological markers involved in epidermal innate immunity in both clinically normal skin and inflammatory early papules in acne patients prone to scars or not.

Results

In normal skin of acne patients prone to scars vs not prone to scars, TLR-4, IL-2, IL-10, TIMP-2 and JUN were significantly overexpressed and the MMP-9 protein level was decreased. Similar results were obtained in early inflammatory papules (no more than three days), except for TLR-4.

Conclusion

These results suggest for the first time a link between the early events of inflammation with levels of activation of innate immunity in normal epidermis of acne patients and the development of scars. These markers could be a target for drugs in the field of scar prevention.