Is IL-1β Further Evidence for the Role of Propionibacterium acnes in Degenerative Disc Disease? Lessons From the Study of the Inflammatory Skin Condition Acne Vulgaris

Ondrej Slaby, Andrew Mcdowell, Holger Brüggemann, Assaf Raz, Sibel Demir-deviren, Tony Freemont, Peter Lambert, Manu N. Capoor

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The pathogenesis of degenerative disc disease is a complex and multifactorial process in which genetics, mechanical trauma, altered loading and nutrition present significant etiological factors. Infection of the intervertebral disc with the anaerobic bacterium Propionibacterium acnes is now also emerging as a potentially new etiological factor. This human commensal bacterium is well known for its long association with the inflammatory skin condition acne vulgaris. A key component of inflammatory responses to P. acnes in acne appears to be interleukin (IL)-1β. Similarly, in degenerative disc disease (DDD) there is compelling evidence for the fundamental roles of IL-1β in its pathology. We therefore propose that P. acnes involvement in DDD is biologically very plausible, and that IL-1β is the key inflammatory mechanism driving the host response to P. acnes infection. Since there is a solid theoretical basis for this phenomenon, we further propose that the relationship between P. acnes infection and DDD is causal.
Original languageEnglish
Article number272
JournalFrontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
Volume8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Aug 2018

Bibliographical note

© 2018 Slaby, McDowell, Brüggemann, Raz, Demir-Deviren, Freemont, Lambert and Capoor. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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