New Delhi: A new study has found that lack of oxygen may trigger bacteria which can eventually cause acne in humans.
Bacteria, if caught in a clogged pore with no oil and air in the surroundings can cause inflammatory response known as acne.
The propionibacterium acnes — bacteria known to contribute to acne as well as certain other infections — usually lives on the skin harmlessly.
The study, led by researchers from the University of California, at San Diego, in the US, showed that when trapped in airless environments alongside hair and skin cells, propionibacterium acnes turns serum — the oil found on our skin — into fatty acids that activate inflammation in nearby skin cells.
Usually this inflammation is switched off by histones — known as enzymes — but the fatty acids produced by the bacteria deactivate that brake, so inflammation continues and causes the red, itchy breakouts.
“Under certain conditions, propionibacterium acnes will secrete fatty acids that inhibit two enzymes in keratinocytes-cells that make up most of the skin’s outermost layer. That, in turn, boosts the cells’ inflammatory reactions,” Richard Gallo from the University of California, San Diego, was quoted as saying to the Health Day.
Further, the study may also help explain the process underlying acne and folliculitis — an inflammation of a hair follicle that causes pimple-like bumps or other skin symptoms.
IANS