Acne is the most common skin disorder encountered by physicians. It affects 80% of all persons between the ages of 11 and 30 years. Although the overall health is not impaired, acne can produce cutaneous and emotional scars that last a lifetime. Currently available therapies are mainly used to treat symptoms and are associated with severe drawbacks, such as skin irritation, requiring prolonged treatment, teratogenesis, and acquisition of antibiotic resistance. More effective or safer treatments are needed to achieve a better compliance in the patient. Androgens play a critical role in the development of acne, i.e., the cause of disease. In theory, use of androgen blockers (e.g. anti-androgens) would prevent or intervene in acne pathogenesis. Nevertheless, systemic anti-androgens cannot be used in men due to its potential side effect in male fertility. Even in women, systemic anti-androgens need to be prescribed in conjunction with oral contraceptives. Currently, there is no topical anti-androgen available, and search for an effective topical antiandrogen has been going on for the last two decades. Recently, we discovered a new class of anti-androgen, ASCJ4, which induces AR degradation and displaying a superior anti-androgen activity in vitro. Furthermore, we discovered that ASCJ4 after topically applied to fuzzy rats (a rodent model for human acne) attenuates seborrhea. In here, we propose to further study ASCJ4's potentiality as a topical drug candidate for acne. We will: 1. Perform acute dermal toxicity test to examine biosafety of ASCJ4 compound; 2. Study more fuzzy rats to confirm the sebaceous gland repressive efficacy of ASCJ4; and 3. Use another widely accepted rodent model for human acne, the hamster flank organs, to ensure the sebosuppressive effect of ASCJ4. The derived information from this study will help define the ASCJ4's safety and efficacy and allow an evaluation as to whether ASCJ4 is developable as a topical anti-androgen drug for acne.
