A Possible Role of a Stress Hormone in Acne : Toll-like Receptor 2 Expression Is Enhanced by Glucocorticoids in Human Keratinocytes

A link between psychosocial stress and acne has long been postulated, but its mechanism is not yet clear. Cortisol, the main glucocorticoid (GC) in humans, is considered a stress hormone. It is well known that GC treatment provokes an acneiform reaction. Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) activation by Pro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Japan Vol. 45; no. 3; pp. 199 - 206
Main Authors Shibata, Michio, Onodera, Tomoko, Kawai, Eriko, Hineno, Teruhiko
Format Journal Article
LanguageJapanese
English
Published The Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Japan 20.09.2011
Subjects
acne
Cortisol
glucocorticoids
keratinocytes
Melia azadirachta
Propionibacterium acnes
stress hormone
TLR
TNF-α
Toll-like receptor
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Summary:A link between psychosocial stress and acne has long been postulated, but its mechanism is not yet clear. Cortisol, the main glucocorticoid (GC) in humans, is considered a stress hormone. It is well known that GC treatment provokes an acneiform reaction. Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) activation by Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) may induce skin inflammation via induction of various proinflammatory molecules. In this study, we examined the effects of GC on TLR2 expression in cultured human keratinocytes (HK) to elucidate a relationship between stress and acne. The addition of GC to HK markedly enhanced their TLR2 gene expression, which was further stimulated by P. acnes, TNF-α or IL-1α. Moreover, Melia azadirachta extract had potent inhibitory activity against TLR2 expression induced by GC and TNF-α. These findings suggest that GC-enhanced TLR2 expression plays an important role in the exacerbation of acne. Moreover, Melia azadirachta extract may be useful to prevent inflammation of stress-induced acne.
ISSN:0387-5253
1884-4146
DOI:10.5107/sccj.45.199