IL-17: a key player in the P. acnes inflammatory cascade?

Recent advances in our understanding of inflammatory skin diseases now afford an opportunity to delve deeper into microbial/host interactions in acne. Agak et al. report that Propionibacterium acnes induces IL-17 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and present new evidence that IL-17+ cells are found in the perifollicular infiltrate of comedones. Additional studies are needed to assess the clinical relevance of IL-17 in acne.