Evaluation of delayed type immune reactivity in patients with acne vulgaris

The delayed-type immune reactivities of 39 patients suffering from moderate to severe papulopustular or nodulo-cystic forms of Acne vulgaris were compared with healthy acne-free controls. In vivo reactivity was assessed by skin testing with four common recall antigens. In vitro the afferent arm of the immune system was assayed by antigen and mitogen simulated lymphocyte transformation and the efferent arm by granulocyte random migration and by granulocyte responsiveness to a standard migration inhibitory lymphokine preparation. Spontaneous lymphocyte transformations were also evaluated. In acne patients the skin test reactivities were in general only slightly decreased. Their lymphocytes showed relatively normal responses to mitogen stimulation, but antigen responsiveness was significantly diminished. Furthermore the patients' lymphocytes showed increased spontaneous transformation. All these changes correlated, to some extent, with the severity of the disease. The granulocytes of acne patients showed increased random migration, of borderline significance, but the granulocyte responses to the lymphokine preparation were completely normal. The results suggest that immunologic abnormalities are mild and probably secondary to the inflammatory process.