Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine found positive results from a trial of a vaccine to treat acne in mice, the institution announced Dec. 20.
The vaccine targets two variants of Cutibacterium acnes — the bacterium that often causes the skin condition — HylA and HylB. By neutralizing these variant-produced enzymes, the vaccine was found to reduce inflammation while simultaneously avoiding the healthy bacterial enzymes, according to the research, which was published Dec. 5 in Nature Communications.
Although the trials were in mice and authors of the study note that additional clinical trials are necessary to compare effectiveness in humans, researchers are working toward developing "a therapy that's much more tailored toward exactly what we know causes acne, rather than just generically blocking inflammation," George Liu, MD, PhD, a professor and chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC San Diego School of Medicine, said in the release.
"We hope that by understanding how bacteria induce acne, we can come up with a single or combination vaccine that would take care of acne much more effectively than we can right now," he added.