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Updated: Jul 3, 2026

A Rat Model of Compound Acne
Published on: November 1, 2024
NET-inducing ability of Cutibacterium acnes clinical isolates is associated with pathogenicity in acne vulgaris
Yi-Hsien Shih1,2, Chih-Chieh Hsu3, Che-Hao Hsu1,4
1Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Background:
Cutibacterium acnes strains vary in virulence and inflammatory potential in acne vulgaris, but the role of the bacterial ability to induce neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in acne is unclear.
Methods:
We collected 18 clinical isolates from acne patients and healthy controls and analyzed the correlation between C. acnes NET-inducing ability and bacterial virulence involved in acne vulgaris pathogenicity.
Results:
Eighteen clinical strains were classified into 17 IA1 and 1 IA2 phylotypes. Supernatants from five acne-associated strains exhibited marked NET-inducing activity, which was strongly correlated with cytokine production and reactive oxygen species generation. The NET-inducing capacity of supernatants was also positively correlated with bacterial hemolytic activity against human erythrocytes and biofilm formation. In a mouse ear model, NET-inducing strains caused more-severe lesions than NET-noninducing strains. Whole-genome sequencing revealed substantial genetic variation between the NET-inducing strain (C009) and NET-noninducing ATCC strain.
Conclusion:
These findings suggest that NET induction represents one of virulence-associated phenotypes linked to pathogenicity in C. acnes-induced acne vulgaris.
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