2024-01-22 17:27:36
He acne It is one of the great enemies of the skin of adolescents, but also of adults. Sometimes it is difficult to say goodbye to pimples and, no matter how many products we use against them, in the end they always return. There are some compounds for cosmetic use, such as retinol, which help combat it. However, for more severe cases, drugs that have many drawbacks are usually used. Therefore, a team of scientists from the Pompeu Fabra Universityfrom Barcelona, has developed a acne treatment very different from the rest, which acts as a kind of Trojan horse, turning the bacteria that cause the condition against themselves.
Well, they don’t actually make bacteria fight each other. What is achieved is that a specific species of bacteria, Cutibacterium acnes, promotes the synthesis of a protein that regulates sebum levels.
Sebum, although necessary for the skin, when it exceeds certain levels it becomes food for the bacteria that cause acne, among which the skin itself stands out. C. acnes. Besides, clogs hair follicles, worsening the symptoms. That is why it is said that this acne treatment acts as a Troy Horse. The secret weapon is introduced among the skin’s own bacteria. Afterwards, she is allowed to be released quietly, without making a fuss. At the moment it has only been tested with mice, but the results have been very promising.
What does this condition consist of?
Before talking about acne, let’s remember what it is and how exactly it occurs. Broadly speaking, it is a skin condition that occurs when skin follicles become clogged. This obstruction generally occurs due to the accumulation of sebum, although there may also be dead cells and bacteria, which precisely feed on that sebum.
This entire process gives rise to a inflammatory reactionwhich presents with the typical redness and accumulation of pimples that normally occur during acne.
The bacteria responsible for this condition are actually microorganisms that normally live on our skin in a harmless way. The most common is C. acnesformerly known as Propionibacterium acnes. They are normally found as part of the defensive skin barrierprotecting it from external agents, but also from damage derived from cellular oxidation or inflammation, among other processes that are harmful to cells.
When sebum accumulates in the pores, that is when you are they proliferate too much, causing that excessive inflammatory response that we associate with acne. It is important to take this into account to understand how this new acne treatment proposed at Pompeu Fabra works.
Advantages and disadvantages of each acne treatment
Today there is more than one effective treatment against acne. The most common thing is to resort to antibiotics. These can be administered in different formats, but they should always be prescribed by a doctor, preferably a dermatologist. It is important to make this clear, because some formats, such as wipes, are sometimes conceived as cosmetics and used with inadequate regularity.
Antibiotic treatments must have a certain duration, to avoid bacterial resistance. But even then they carry disadvantages. The most important is that destroy all bacteria on the skinso they can also attack that much-needed defensive barrier.
On the other hand, there are chemical treatments, such as isotretinoin. Its trade name, among others, is Dercutane, and it is very effective, but it can also cause quite a few side effects. It is a derivative of the vitamin A, like retinol. However, it is much more powerful and is found in a much higher concentration than what cosmetics contain.
The main side effect is very intense dryness of the skin. However, it can also affect cholesterol levels or even damage the liver. These last effects are very rare, but it may still be necessary to recommend an analysis to check that everything is going well. In addition, it is teratogenic, so it is very important that this drug is not prescribed to women. pregnant
Since there doesn’t seem to be a perfect acne treatment, there are still many other options under investigation. And that is what these scientists have proven. Isotretinoin works attacking all fronts of acne. On the one hand, it regulates sebum production. But, on the other hand, it cleans clogged pores, reduces inflammation and attacks the bacteria associated with acne.
All this is achieved, in part, thanks to the activation of a gene that codes for the synthesis of a protein called NGAL. The function of this protein is to regulate the production of sebum, so that enough is synthesized to lubricate the skin, but without reaching an amount that can clog pores.
A new option
The skin of mice is very different from that of humans. Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash
The authors of this new study, published in Nature Biotechnology, wanted to obtain an acne treatment that combined the benefits of isotretinoin, but without the side effects. Therefore, they thought of the NGAL protein.
Once this protein is selected as a target, genetically modified a strain of bacteria C. acnes, so that they carried the gene that carries the instructions for its synthesis. Thus, it was expected that, when placed in contact with the skin, it would mix with the rest of the microbiota and, from there, help control sebum production.
To test the effectiveness of this strain of bacteria, they first put it in contact with a sebocyte culture, which are the cells responsible for producing sebum. In just 48 hours, the levels of this fat had been reduced by half.
Next, they tried administering the bacteria topically to mice. They found that 4 days later NGAL continued to be synthesized and this was located deep in the hair follicles.
The bells cannot yet be thrown into the air, since the skin of mice is very different from that of humans for different reasons. For example, she has many more hair follicles and is much thinner. But that doesn’t make the results any less promising. This should be further investigated Troy Horsebut we could be facing an interesting acne treatment.
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