Propionibacterium acnes induces an interleukin-17 response in acne vulgaris that is regulated by vitamin A and vitamin D

Acne vulgaris is the most common skin disorder affecting millions of people worldwide and inflammation resulting from the immune response targeting Propionibacterium acnes plays a significant role in its pathogenesis. In this study, we have demonstrated that P. acnes is a potent inducer of Th17 and Th1, but not Th2 responses in human PBMCs. P. acnes stimulated expression of key Th17-related genes, including IL-17A, RORα, RORc, IL-17RA and IL-17RC, and triggered IL-17 secretion from CD4(+), but not CD8(+) T cells. Supernatants from P. acnes-stimulated PBMCs were sufficient to promote the differentiation of naïve CD4(+)CD45RA T cells into Th17 cells. Furthermore, we found that the combination of IL-1β, IL-6 and TGF-β neutralizing antibodies completely inhibited P. acnes-induced IL-17 production. Importantly, we showed that IL-17-expressing cells were present in skin biopsies from acne patients but not from normal donors. Finally, vitamin A (all-trans retinoic acid) and vitamin D (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3) inhibited P. acnes-induced Th17 differentiation. Together, our data demonstrate that IL-17 is induced by P. acnes and expressed in acne lesions and that both vitamin A and vitamin D could be effective tools to modulate Th17-mediated diseases such as acne.