Studying the genetic predisposing factors in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris

Acne is one of the most common dermatologic diseases in the developed regions of the world, affecting a large percentage of the population. Despite the great improvement in the number and quality of studies of the molecular etiology of this disease in the past 3 decades, the detailed molecular pathogenesis and the cause of the large individual variations in severity of skin symptoms remain unknown. The roles of genetic inheritance and special genetic susceptibility and protective factors have been suggested for over 100 years, but their identification and determination started only in the 1990s. To date, only a small number of genetic polymorphisms affecting the expression and/or function of a handful of genes have been investigated. This review surveys the major findings of the classic and molecular genetic studies that have been conducted in this field, draws conclusions, and indicates how the available data help our current understanding of the pathogenesis of this common skin disease.