Genome-wide meta-analysis implicates mediators of hair follicle development and morphogenesis in risk for severe acne.

Acne vulgaris is a highly heritable common, chronic inflammatory disease of the skin for which five genetic risk loci have so far been identified. Here, we perform a genome-wide association study of 3823 cases and 16,144 controls followed by meta-analysis with summary statistics from a previous study, with a total sample size of 26,722. We identify 20 independent association signals at 15 risk loci, 12 of which have not been previously implicated in the disease.

Nonclinical and human pharmacology of the potent and selective topical retinoic acid receptor-γ agonist trifarotene.

Background: First- and third-generation retinoids are the main treatment for acne. Even though efficacious, they lack full selectivity for retinoic acid receptor (RAR) γ, expressed in the epidermis and infundibulum.

Objectives: To characterize the in vitro metabolism and the pharmacology of the novel retinoid trifarotene.

Atrophic scar formation in patients with acne involves long-acting immune responses with plasma cells and alteration of sebaceous glands.

Background: Possible outcomes of acne lesions are atrophic scars, which may cause serious psychological distress. Current treatments for postacne scarring often require invasive procedures. Pathophysiological studies on acne scarring have only investigated the first week of papule life.

Discovery and Characterization of CD12681, a Potent RORγ Inverse Agonist, Preclinical Candidate for the Topical Treatment of Psoriasis.

With possible implications in multiple autoimmune diseases, the retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor RORγ has become a sought-after target in the pharmaceutical industry. Herein are described the efforts to identify a potent RORγ inverse agonist compatible with topical application for the treatment of skin diseases. These efforts culminated in the discovery of N-(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-N-isobutyl-2-oxo-1-[(tetrahydro-2H-pyran-4-yl)methyl]-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzo[d]imidazole-5-sulfonamide (CD12681), a potent inverse agonist with in vivo activity in an IL-23-induced mouse skin inflammation model.

Lack of significant anti-inflammatory activity with clindamycin in the treatment of rosacea: results of 2 randomized, vehicle-controlled trials.

Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin disease of the face. The objective of the studies described here was to evaluate the efficacy of clindamycin in the treatment of rosacea. Two multicenter, randomized, vehicle-controlled, phase 2 studies were conducted in participants with moderate to severe rosacea.

Noninvasive proteome analysis of psoriatic stratum corneum reflects pathophysiological pathways and is useful for drug profiling.

Background: Protein expression is disturbed in the psoriatic stratum corneum (SC). Noninvasive methods for the description of pathophysiological changes and drug profiling in psoriasis are desirable.

Objectives: Undertake large-scale noninvasive protein expression studies in psoriatic SC to identify biomarkers of pathophysiological processes and use them for drug profiling.

Molecular and Morphological Characterization of Inflammatory Infiltrate in Rosacea Reveals Activation of Th1/Th17 Pathways.

Rosacea is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease of unknown etiology. Our knowledge about an involvement of the adaptive immune system is very limited. We performed detailed transcriptome analysis, quantitative real-time reverse-transcriptase-PCR, and quantitative immunohistochemistry on facial biopsies of rosacea patients, classified according to their clinical subtype.

IL-17/Th17 pathway is activated in acne lesions.

The mechanisms of inflammation in acne are currently subject of intense investigation. This study focused on the activation of adaptive and innate immunity in clinically early visible inflamed acne lesions and was performed in two independent patient populations. Biopsies were collected from lesional and non-lesional skin of acne patients.

Genome-wide association study identifies three novel susceptibility loci for severe Acne vulgaris.

Acne vulgaris (acne) is a common inflammatory disorder of the cutaneous pilo-sebaceous unit. Here we perform a genome-wide association analysis in the United Kingdom, comparing severe cases of acne (n=1,893) with controls (n=5,132). In a second stage, we genotype putative-associated loci in a further 2,063 acne cases and 1,970 controls.

Neurovascular and neuroimmune aspects in the pathophysiology of rosacea.

Rosacea is a common skin disease with a high impact on quality of life. Characterized by erythema, edema, burning pain, immune infiltration, and facial skin fibrosis, rosacea has all the characteristics of neurogenic inflammation, a condition induced by sensory nerves via antidromically released neuromediators. To investigate the hypothesis of a central role of neural interactions in the pathophysiology, we analyzed molecular and morphological characteristics in the different subtypes of rosacea by immunohistochemistry, double immunofluorescence, morphometry, real-time PCR, and gene array analysis, and compared the findings with those for lupus erythematosus or healthy skin.

Clinical, cellular, and molecular aspects in the pathophysiology of rosacea.

Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin disease of unknown etiology. Although described centuries ago, the pathophysiology of this disease is still poorly understood. Epidemiological studies indicate a genetic component, but a rosacea gene has not been identified yet.

Differential responses of PPARalpha, PPARdelta, and PPARgamma reporter cell lines to selective PPAR synthetic ligands.

To characterize the specificity of synthetic compounds for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), three stable cell lines expressing the ligand binding domain (LBD) of human PPARalpha, PPARdelta, or PPARgamma fused to the yeast GAL4 DNA binding domain (DBD) were developed. These reporter cell lines were generated by a two-step transfection procedure. First, a stable cell line, HG5LN, expressing the reporter gene was developed.

Isolation and characterization of antagonist and agonist peptides to the human melanocortin 1 receptor.

We identified a large number of peptide mimotopes of the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and the alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) to analyze better the structure-function relationships of these hormones with the human MC1 receptor (hMC1R). We have investigated the use of phage-display technology to isolate specific peptides of this receptor by using three monoclonal anti-ACTH antibodies (mAbs). A library of 10(8) phage-peptides displaying randomized decapeptides was constructed and used to select phage-peptides that bind to mAbs.

Selective synthetic ligands for human nuclear retinoic acid receptors.

From a series of naphthalene and benzoic acid derivatives we have identified synthetic retinoic acid analogues exhibiting high selectivity for the nuclear retinoic acid receptors RAR alpha (Am 580), RAR beta (CD 2019) and RAR gamma (CD 437) as well as ligands sharing high affinities for all RAR subtypes (CD 367). The compounds were evaluated in two complementary screening systems: (1) binding to nuclear proteins extracted from COS-7 cells after transfection with the appropriate expression vectors, and (2) induction of plasminogen activator in the embryonic mouse teratocarcinoma cell line F9. All compounds behaved as retinoic acid agonists in the F9 test.

In vitro binding of retinoids to the nuclear retinoic acid receptor alpha.

We describe a rapid method for measuring in vitro binding properties of new synthetic retinoids to the recently identified nuclear receptor RAR alpha. Transfection of cos-7 cells with the expression vector RAR alpha O produces a 100-fold increase in intracellular RAR alpha concentration which allows us to perform accurate determination of binding parameters of various retinoids. Cytosol and nuclear extracts obtained after freeze drying of the transfected cells are incubated with a new stable tritiated analog of retinoic acid, [3H]CD367.