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Effect of dihydrotestosterone on the upregulation of inflammatory cytokines in cultured sebocytes

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Abstract

Acne is a complex, chronic and common skin disorder of pilosebaceous units. Hyperkeratinization of keratinocytes, increased sebum excretion from sebocytes via androgen stimulation and inflammatory cytokines are the major factors involved in the pathophysiology of acne. In addition, it is known that keratinocytes play an important role in acne synthesizing a number of inflammatory cytokines. However, the nature of the association between inflammatory cytokines and sebocytes in acne remains unclear. Culture of sebocytes provides a new insight into the participation of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the production of inflammatory cytokines in acne. To examine the possible involvement of DHT in the production of inflammatory cytokines in the cultured sebocytes, we used immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR to compare the expression of interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Upregulation of IL-6 and TNF-α in immunohistochemistry, and increase in RNA amplification for IL-6 and TNF-α were observed after addition of DHT compared with the control. This study suggests that DHT may not only be involved in sebum production but also in production of proinflammatory cytokines in acne.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, 200, Dongduk-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu, Republic of Korea

    Weon Ju Lee, Hong Dae Jung, Seong Geun Chi, Byung Soo Kim, Seok-Jong Lee & Do Won Kim

  2. Department of Immunology, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Jung-gu, Daegu, Republic of Korea

    Moon Kyu Kim & Jung Chul Kim

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  1. Weon Ju Lee
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  2. Hong Dae Jung
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Correspondence to Weon Ju Lee.

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Lee, W.J., Jung, H.D., Chi, S.G. et al. Effect of dihydrotestosterone on the upregulation of inflammatory cytokines in cultured sebocytes. Arch Dermatol Res 302, 429–433 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-009-1019-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-009-1019-6

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