Objective: The aim of the work is to investigate the immunohistochemical expression of Toll like receptor-2 (TLR-2) in acne vulgaris and correlate its expression with the clinical and histopathological data hoping that this may help in understanding the pathogenic and new therapeutic modalities of this disease entity.

Patients & Method: The study was carried out on Thirty acne patients and ten controls with matched age and sex. All were attending the dermatology outpatient clinic of Benha university hospital. Skin biopsies were taken from patients and control groups and were immunostained for TLR-2. The intensity of staining was evaluated in the epidermis and dermis and was scored as mild, moderate and severe. The expression was correlated with the clinical data and histological changes.
Results: There was significant higher cytoplasmic expression of TLR-2 in epidermis and dermis in acne patients than in controls. There was statistical significant correlation between cytoplasmic expression of TRL-2 in epidermis and dermis with grading and course of acne. There was statistical significant correlation between cytoplasmic expression of TLR-2 in epidermis and dermis of acne patients and severity of inflammation. There was statistical significant correlation between cytoplasmic expression of TLR-2 in epidermis and dermis of acne patients and concentration of neutrophils.
Conclusion: The study was able to demonstrate the altered immunoreactivity of TLR-2 in inflammatory acne vulgaris compared to normal skin. Targeted therapy to block TLR-2 production may hold promise in limiting the deleterious effects of TLR-2 mediated inflammatory response