Abstract

Regulation of Gene Expression by Quantitative Real Time PCR in Low Dose Isotretinoin Treated Acne Patients

Diksha Jha, Kabir Sardana and Hemant K Gautam

Acne vulgaris is a common human skin disorder, hunting the younger age groups of people ranging from 10-35 years. It is not a deadly disease, but it is a major fact, that most of the suicides in adolescents are due to acne vulgaris. Accumulation of Propionibacterium acnes, sebum production, follicular hyper keratinisation and inflammation are some of the significant causes of pathogenesis of acne. Many medications including antibiotics like tetracycline, minocycline, erythromycin, clindamycin are given to the patients, but due to improper medication habit of the patient and certain resistance mechanisms of smart pathogens leads to the resistance of such bacteria against these antibiotics. Till date, isotretinoin and retinoic acid, are the best treatment for Acne vulgaris. This study was undertaken to analyze the regulation of genes expression after 1 and 8 weeks of isotretinoin (dose: 0.5 mg/kg/ day) treatment given toacne patients. Upregulation in the expression of some prime genes like LCN2, KRT23, SERPINA3 accounts for the initiation of the immune response against the pathogens causing acne. Down regulation of genes like PDE6A, COL1A1, ALOX15B, MMP-2, INSIG1 etc. again demonstrates that the gene products which can convert sebum, fats and cholesterol to triglycerides would no further be beneficial for P. acnes inhabitation. The aim of this study was to understand the action of isotretinoinin the regulation of gene expression in acne patient.