Acne is a human disease of the sebaceous hair follicle. Unlike humans, most animals produce little or no
triglycerides in hair follicles to harbor Propionibacterium acnes a fact that has encumbered the development of novel treatments for
acne lesions. Although genetic mutant mice with
acne-like skins have been used for screening anti-
acne drugs, the mice generally have deficits in immune system that turns out to be inappropriate to generate
antibodies for developing
acne vaccines. Here, we employed a bioengineering approach using a tissue chamber integrated with a dermis-based cell-trapped system (DBCTS) to mimic the in vivo microenvironment of
acne lesions. Human sebocyte cell lines were grown in DBCTS as a scaffold and inserted into a perforated tissue chamber. After implantation of a tissue chamber bearing human sebocytes into ICR mice, P. acnes or PBS was injected into a tissue chamber to induce host immune response. Infiltrated cells such as neutrophils and macrophages were detectable in tissue chamber fluids. In addition, a proinflammatory
cytokine macrophage-inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) was elevated after P. acnes injection. In tissue chamber fluids, 13
proteins including secreted
proteins and cell matrix derived from mouse, human cells or P. acnes were identified by proteomics using
isotope-coded
protein label (ICPL) coupled to nano-LC-MS analysis. After P. acnes
infection, four
proteins including
fibrinogen, alpha
polypeptide,
fibrinogen beta chain, S100A9, and
serine protease inhibitor A3K showed altered concentrations in the mimicked
acne microenvironment. The bioengineered
acne model thus provides an in vivo microenvironment to study the interaction of host with P. acnes and offers a unique set-up for screening novel anti-
acne drugs and
vaccines.