the present invention relates to a method of preventing and treating acne , comprising administering active agents ( inhibitors , modulators and compounds as specified in the instant invention ) interfering in the nlrp3 inflammasome il - 1β pathway , and the use of such active agents in the prevention or treatment of acne and in the manufacture of medicaments for preventing and treating acne . the invention further relates to a method of screening for a compound effective in the prevention and treatment of acne , comprising contacting a candidate compound with members of the nlrp3 inflammasome il - 1β pathway and choosing candidate compounds which selectively reduce activity of such member of the nlrp3 inflammasome il - 1β pathway . the invention further relates to compounds selected by these methods of screening . the action of the members of the nlrp3 inflammasome il - 1β pathway can be modulated by administration of antibodies or antibody fragments directed against il - 1β , il - 1r , or nlrp3 , of fusion proteins consisting of il - 1r extracellular domains and the fc portion of antibodies , of molecules that affect the protein or mrna expression of il - 1β , il - 1r , or nlrp3 ( srna ; mirna ), as well as of small molecules that interfere with the binding of ligands to the il - 1r . the production of il - 1β , il - 1r , or nlrp3 can be modulated by using sirna in vitro but also by directly suppressing the promoter activity of genes of il - 1β , il - 1r , or nlrp3 with small molecules or suppressors of the transcription factors involved in the transcription of the respective genes . the action of il - 1β can be inhibited by il - 1 receptor modulators . additionally , targeting of the nlrp3 inflammasome il - 1β pathway can be achieved by the administration of neutralizing antibodies or antibody fragments to il - 1β , il - 1r , or nlrp3 or by proteins , protein analogues or small synthetic compounds which bind il - 1β and thereby prevent its binding to the il - 1 receptor , or bind to the il - 1 receptor . a further way to prevent binding to the il - 1 receptor is to use soluble il - 1 receptor or fragments thereof . antibodies against il - 1β , il - 1r , or nlrp3 can be generated e . g . by immunization of knockout mice by using the virus like particle system , or by injection of recombinant protein in knockout mice . examples of nlrp3 inflammasome il - 1β pathway modulators according to the invention are disclosed in the following . preferred modulators of the nlrp3 inflammasome il - 1β pathway according to the invention are : antibodies that bind to il - 1β or nlrp3 , antigen binding fragments of an antibody ( e . g . fab fragments ) or antibody - like molecules ( e . g . repeat proteins ) which by binding to il - 1β , or nlrp3 deplete il - 1β or nlrp3 from the extracellular space or that block the binding between il - 1β and its receptors . antibodies against il - 1β are state of the art and include the well characterized antibodies canakinumab ( novartis ) and xoma052 ( xoma ). antibodies , antigen binding fragments of an antibody ( e . g . fab fragments ) or antibody - like molecules ( e . g . repeat proteins ) which by binding to il - 1r block the action of il - 1β . such antibodies preferably bind to il - 1r in the region where il - 1β would normally bind , but without inducing il - 1β - signalling . antibodies against il - 1r are state of the art and include the well characterized antibody amg 108 ( amgen ) described in wo 2004 / 022718 ; fusion proteins consisting of il - 1r extracellular domains and the fc portion of antibodies , an example of such a protein being rilonacept ( regeneron pharmaceuticals ); virus - like particles loaded with il - 1β , il - 1r , or nlrp3 and therefore induce an antibody response directed against these molecules with the effect to block their biological activity ; antisense molecules for downregulation of il - 1β , il - 1r , or nlrp3 . these antisense molecules are 12 - 50 nucleotides in length and encode a given sequence found in the exons or introns of il - 1β , il - 1r , or nlrp3 . moreover , antisense molecules containing a sequence of the il - 1β , il - 1r , or nlrp3 promoters and binding within the promoter region may be used . finally , antisense molecules binding in the 3 ′ utr - non translated regions of il - 1β , il - 1r , or nlrp3 are contemplated ; small molecules that inhibit il - 1β , il - 1r , or nlrp3 . small molecules contemplated are synthetic compounds up to a molecular weight of 1000 which have suitable physiological activity and pharmacological properties making them useful for the application as medicaments . such small synthetic molecules are , for example , found by the screening method of the present invention described below . alternatively , such small molecules are designed by molecular modelling taking into account possible binding sites of il - 1β , il - 1r , or nlrp3 ; proteins and protein analogs which bind il - 1β , il - 1r , or nlrp3 , for example , synthetic proteins or protein analogs which mimic the variable region scfv of binding and / or neutralizing antibodies , or antibodies that mimic a binding pocket for il - 1β of the il - 1r . an example of such a protein is anakinra ( biogen ). canakinumab ( novartis ), a human anti -( human interleukin 1 ( 3 ) immunoglobulin g1 ( wo 02 / 16436 ); xoma052 ( xoma ), a human engineered igg2 antibody ( wo 2007 / 002261 ); amg108 ( amgen ), a fully human monoclonal antibody that targets inhibition of the action of interleukin - 1 ( wo 2004 / 022718 ); gsk1827771 , a domain antibody targeting the il - 1 receptor ; ly2189102 ( eli lilly ), a human interleukin 1 monoclonal antibody ; rilonacept ( regeneron pharmaceuticals ), a fusion protein consisting of human cytokine receptor extracellular domains and the fc portion of human igg ; anakinra ( biogen ), a recombinant form of naturally - occurring il - 1 receptor antagonist ; diacerein ( 4 , 5 - diacetyloxy - 9 , 10 - dioxoanthracene - 2 - carboxylic acid ), from e . g . abiogen pharma ; vrs826 ( versartis , inc . ), an interleukin - 1 receptor antagonist ( il1ra - rpeg ); apg10110 ( allostera pharma ), an allosteramer which is an oral il - 1r inhibitor ; k832 ( kowa company ), a cytokine production inhibitor ; vgx - 1027 ( inovio biomedical corporation ), an interleukin - 1 inhibitor . another aspect of the invention relates to the use modulators of the nlrp3 inflammasome il - 1β pathway as described hereinbefore in the prevention and treatment of acne , and in the manufacture of medicaments for treating these diseases . the invention further relates to a method of screening for a compound effective in the prevention and treatment of acne comprising contacting a candidate compound with a member of the nlrp3 inflammasome il - 1β pathway and choosing candidate compounds which selectively reduce the activity of such member of the nlrp3 inflammasome il - 1β pathway . modulators of the nlrp3 inflammasome il - 1β pathway activity are identified by contacting a member of the nlrp3 inflammasome il - 1β pathway with a candidate compound . a control assay with the corresponding member of the nlrp3 inflammasome il - 1β pathway in the absence of the candidate compound is run in parallel . a decrease in activity in the presence of the candidate compound compared to the level in the absence of the compound indicates that the candidate compound is a nlrp3 inflammasome il - 1β pathway modulator . it was shown that p . acnes is a strong trigger of il - 1β production in the skin in vivo . exposure of monocytes to p . acnes led to nlrp3 - inflammasome activation , caspase - 1 cleavage and processing of the mature form of il - 1β in a manner dependent on phagocytosis , subsequent lysosomal destabilization , ros production , and cellular k + efflux . consistent with this , in mice p . acnes induces neutrophilic skin lesions reminiscent of acne in a nlrp3 - inflammasome -, il - 1β - dependent -, and tlr - 2 - independent manner that requires the presence of antigen presenting cells of myeloid origin . the central role of il - 1β in mediating p . acnes - induced cutaneous inflammation was further verified by selective blockade of neutrophilic skin infiltration in vivo upon administration of monoclonal anti - il1β antibody and an il - 1 receptor antagonist . these findings indicate that sensing of p . acnes in the skin by the nlrp3 inflammasome can trigger il - 1β - dependent , tlr - 2 independent neutrophilic skin inflammation , and identifies il - 1β and nlrp3 as a novel targets for the therapy of inflammatory acne vulgaris . for western blotting cell culture supernatants were precipitated by addition of 0 . 25 volumes of trichloroacetic acid ( 100 % w / v ), 10 min incubation on ice and centrifugation for 5 min at 14 , 000 g . protein pellet was washed twice with ice - cold acetone , centrifuged as described above and dried at 70 ° c . cells were lysed with buffer ( 10 mm tris ph 7 . 5 , 1 % np - 40 , 150 mm nacl , 5 mm edta ,) containing a protease inhibitor cocktail . proteins were separated on a nupage gel in accordance with the manufacturer &# 39 ; s protocol and transferred to a hybond - c - extra membrane by electroblotting . the membranes were blocked with 5 % gelatin in 1 × pbs and 0 . 5 % tween - 20 and then probed with primary antibodies as follows : rabbit polyclonal anti - human mature ( 17 kda ) il - 1β ( d116 ), rabbit polyclonal anti - human il - 1β , goat polyclonal anti - mouse il - 1b , rabbit polyclonal anti - asc ( al117 ), rabbit polyclonal anti - human caspase - 1 ( sc622 ), mouse igg2b anti - nlrp3 ( cryo - 2 ), rabbit polyclonal anti - b - actin . appropriate hrp - conjugated secondary antibodies were used and proteins were detected using ecl reagent . p . acnes ( dsm 1897 ) was cultured in anaerobic conditions on cooked meat medium supplemented with yeast extract ( 5 g / l ), k 2 hpo 2 ( 5 g / l ), resaurin ( 1 mg / l ), and cystein chloride ( 0 . 5 g / l ) at 37 ° c . bacteria were harvested by centrifugation at 5 , 000 at 10 min , washed and suspended in pbs or medium for experiments . monocytes from healthy donors were obtained from peripheral blood mononuclear cells ( pbmc ). pbmc were purified from buffy - coat using a density gradient ( ficoll - paque ). monocytes were sorted from pbmc using anti - cd14 - labeled magnetic beads . freshly isolated human monocytes were stimulated with indicated multiplicity of infection ( moi ) of live p . acnes for 24 h ( fig1 c - f ). secreted il - 1β from p . acnes - infected monocytes ( fig1 c ) or uplps ( ultra pure lipopolysaccharide ) primed and p . acnes - infected monocytes ( fig1 d ) was determined by elisa . il - 6 ( fig1 e ) and tnfα ( fig1 f ) release from p . acnes - exposed cells was determined by elisa . primary keratinocytes were exposed to p . acnes or to nigericin during 24 h and il - 1β secretion was measured by elisa ( fig1 g ). results represent the mean values and standard deviation ( s . d .). data are representative of experiments done three times . within 24 h of exposure to p . acnes , significant secretion of il - 6 , tnfα and il - 1β could be detected in culture supernatants as assessed by elisa , and il - 1β levels in the supernatant further increased when myeloid cells were pre - stimulated with uplps or pma ( phorbol - 12 - myristate - 13 - acetate ). human thp1 promonocytic leukemia cells were grown in rpmi 1640 medium , supplemented with 10 % fcs , 1 % antibiotic - antimycotic , 1 mm sodium - pyruvate , 2 mm glutamax solution . mouse bone - marrow - derived dendritic cells ( bmdc ) were obtained by differentiation of bone marrow cells from 6 - 10 weeks old mice for 8 days in rpmi 1640 medium supplemented like above and in the presence of 20 % x - 63 cells ( mgm - csf - producing cells ) supernatant . for infection experiments thp1 cell were differentiated for 3 h with 500 nm phorbol - 12 - myristate - 13 - acetate ( pma ), washed and platted one day before stimulation . human monocytes and mouse bmdc were primed overnight with ultra - pure lps ( e . coli 0111 : b4 , 100 ng / ml ) in antibiotic - free medium . twelve hours later , medium was replaced and cells were infected with live or heat inactivated p . acnes at the indicated multiplicity of infection ( moi ) or stimulated with msu ( mono sodium urate , 150 mg / ml ), nigericin ( 20 mm ), silica ( 500 mg / ml ), zymosan a ( 200 mg / ml ) for indicated time . atp ( 5 mm ) that was added to the cells 30 min prior to collection of supernatants . mrna were isolated from thp1 cells using the qiagen rneasy kit following manufacturers instructions , and total rna was converted into cdna by standard reverse transcription with superscript iii reverse transcriptase . quantitative pcr was performed using power sybr green pcr master mix . the primer sequences were obtained from http :// pqa . mgh . harvard . edu / primerbank /: for human gapdh : forward 5 ′- atggggaaggtgaaggtc - 3 ′, reverse 5 ′ ggggtcattgatggcaacaata - 3 ′ reverse ; for human nlrp1 : forward 5 ′- attccagtttgtgcgaatcca - 3 ′, reverse 5 ′- gttccttggggagtatttccag - 3 ′. the real - time pcr included an initial denaturation at 95 ° c . for 10 min , followed by 40 cycle of 95 ° c . for 30 s , 55 ° c . for 1 min , 72 ° c . for 1 min , and one cycle of 95 ° c . for 1 min , 55 ° c . for 30 s , 95 ° c . for 30 s . thp1 cells stably expressing shrna against lamin nc , asc , caspase - 1 , nlrp1 and nlrp3 were obtained by transducing thp1 cells with lentiviral particles . briefly gene specific shrna were generated by inserting oligonucleotides targeting lamin nc , asc , caspase - 1 , nlrp3 or nlrp1 into psuper vector and subsequent cloning into lentiviral vector pab286 . 1 . second - generation packaging plasmids pmd2 - vsvg and pcmv - r8 . 91 were used for lentivirus production and infection . human monocytes were primed with uplps and infected with p . acnes ( moi = 100 ) or stimulated with msu crystals ( 150 mg / ml ) in the presence of vehicle ( dmso ) or pan - caspase inhibitor ( z - vad - fmk , 10 mm ) for 24 h ( fig2 a ). il - 1β secretion was determined by elisa and mature il - 1β release ( il - 1β p17 ) by western blot . data are representative of two experiments . fig2 b - d shows elisas of secreted il - 1β from thp - 1 transfected with shrna to caspase - 1 ( shcasp1 ) ( fig2 b ), asc ( shasc ) ( fig2 c ), nlrp1 ( shnlrp1 ) or nlrp3 ( shnlrp3 ) ( fig2 d ). lamin shrna was used as irrelevant control . fig2 e - h show elisas of secreted il - 1β from wt , caspase - 1 −/− ( casp1 ) ( fig2 e ), asc −/− ( fig2 f ), nlrp3 −/− ( fig2 g ), nlrc4 −/− ( fig2 h ) murine bone - marrow - derived dendritic cells ( bmdc ) pulsed with uplps and stimulated with p . acnes ( moi = 300 ) or msu crystals ( 150 mg / ml ) in the presence of vehicle ( dmso ) or z - vad - fmk ( 10 mm ) when indicated . mean and s . d are presented . all results are representative of experiments repeated three times . in p . acnes — as in msu - exposed ( positive control ) human monocytes , the processing and secretion of il - 1β was strongly inhibited in the presence of the pan - caspase inhibitor z - vad ( fig2 a ). moreover and in spite of normal pro - il1β levels , thp1 cells transfected with caspase - 1 - shrna ( fig2 b ) as well as bmdc from caspase - 1 deficient mice ( fig2 e ) were unable to process or secrete il - 1β either upon p . acnes exposure or stimulation with the well - known inflammasome activators msu and nigericin . thp1 cells transduced with shrna to asc ( fig2 c ) or nlrp3 ( fig2 d ) exhibited a strongly reduced il - 1β secretion upon p . acnes exposure when compared to thp1 transduced with irrelevant shrna . to formally demonstrate the role of the inflammasome in p . acnes induced il - 1β processing and secretion , bmdc from mice were tested with targeted deletion of the inflammasome components asc and nlrp3 . exposure of bmdc from asc −/− and nlrp3 −/− mice to p . acnes resulted in dramatically reduced levels of il - 1β secretion when compared to bmdc of wild - type mice ( fig2 f and 2 g ). the nlrc4 inflammasome is not required for il - 1β release following exposure to p . acnes ( fig2 h ), likely due to the inability of p . acnes to form pores in the membrane of infected cells . furthermore , using shrna - transduced thp1 cells , it was observed that the nlr family member nlrp1 is also dispensable for il - 1β secretion upon exposure to p . acnes ( fig2 d ). these data demonstrate that p . acnes is a potent activator of the nlrp3 inflammasome resulting in processing and secretion of the mature form of il - 1β . inflammasome activation by p . acnes requires ros production , k + efflux , phagocytosis and induces lysosomal destabilization bacteria were washed three times with pbs and then labeled with cfse ( 1 mm ) for 20 min at 37 ° c . and extensively washed with medium . thp1 cells or bmdc were infected with p . acnes for 6 h or 24 h , respectively . subsequently , cells were extensively washed and analyzed by flow cytometry . where indicated , cytochalasin d ( 2 . 5 mm ) was added to cells one hour before bacteria . thp1 cells were treated with vehicle ( dmso ) or cytochalasin d ( cyt . d , 2 . 5 mm ) for one hour and then incubated with cfse - labeled p . acnes ( moi = 100 ) for 4 h or left untreated ( fig3 a ). bacteria uptake was analyzed by facs . data are representative of one experiment repeated twice . fig3 b shows the il - 1β secretion from human monocytes primed with uplps and treated with vehicle ( dmso ) or cytochalasin d ( cyt . d , 2 . 5 mm ). non - uplps - primed human monocytes were stimulated for 6 h with p . acnes in the absence ( dmso ) or presence of cytochalasin d ( cyt . d , 2 . 5 mm ) or z - vad - fmk ( 10 mm ) ( fig3 c ). elisa of secreted il - 1β ( supernatant ) and western blot of pro - and mature il - 1β p17 ( cell lysates ) are presented . fig3 d and e show the il - 1β secretion from human monocytes primed with uplps and treated with cathepsin b —( cath . b , 10 mm ) or cathepsin d - inhibitor ( cath . d , 10 mm ) ( fig3 d ) or ros inhibitors ( dpi , 10 mm ; pdtc , 10 mm ) ( fig3 e ). potassium channel blockers ( glibenclamide , 100 mm ; kcl , 65 mm ) were added to uplps - primed human monocytes one hour prior to stimulation with p . acnes ( moi = 100 ), msu ( 150 mg / ml ), atp ( 5 mm ), silica ( 500 mg / ml ) or nigericin ( 20 mm ). il - 1β ( fig3 f ) and tnfα ( fig3 g ) release were determined after 6 h by elisa . secreted il - 1β from wt or p2x7 −/− murine bmdc primed with uplps and treated for 24 h with p . acnes ( moi = 300 ) was measured by elisa ( fig3 h ). presented means and s . d are representative of at least three experiments . treatment of thp1 cells with cyt . d abrogated the uptake of p . acnes ( fig3 a ). il - 1β maturation and secretion from uplps - stimulated monocytes infected with p . acnes or stimulated with msu was reduced by cyt . d , whereas the response to the non - crystaline nlrp3 activator nigericin was not affected ( fig3 b ). both pro - il - 1β synthesis and il - 1β release from non uplps - stimulated human monocytes exposed to p . acnes were affected by cyt d . ( fig3 c ). these observations demonstrate that the internalization process of the bacteria by apcs is essential for both nf - κb - dependent pro - il1β synthesis ( signal 1 ) and its cleavage into its active secreted form ( signal 2 ). furthermore , the specific blockage of cathepsin b , but not cathepsin d resulted in decreased il - 1β secretion form p . acnes infected - or silica stimulated - monocytes ( fig3 d ), showing that lysosmal rupture is needed in the il - 1β secretion process . human monocytes were pre - exposed to uplps in order to generate pro - il - 1β and subsequently stimulated them with p . acnes in the presence of two ros inhibitors , namely diphenyleneiodonium ( dpi ) a nadph - oxidase inhibitor or pdtc . il - 1β secretion from cells exposed to p . acnes or msu under these conditions was strikingly reduced in the presence of both ros inhibitors ( fig3 e ). it has been previously shown that triggering of ros in human granulocytes is caused by potassium efflux . inhibiting k + efflux , either by increased extracellular kcl concentration or by blockage of potassium channels with glibenclamide resulted in significant reduction of il - 1β release by p . acnes exposed - or msu - stimulated cells ( fig3 f ) whereas tnf secretion was unaffected ( fig3 g ). it was also assessed whether cellular atp release might play a role in p . acnes - induced il - 1β production . bmdc from atp receptor p2x 7 deficient mice released similar amounts of il - 1β as cells from wild type mice when infected with p . acnes or stimulated with msu while failing to respond to atp ( fig3 h ). c57bl / 6 mice received three intraperitoneal ( i . p .) injections of il - 1 receptor antagonist ( il - 1ra , anakinra , 150 mg / kg ) or pbs at 8 h intervals . one hour after first i . p . injection of il - 1ra mice received intradermal injections of p . acnes or pbs . tnfα inhibitor ( etanercept ) and anti - il - 1β antibody treated mice ( canakinumab , 200 mg / mouse ) c57bl / 6 mice received i . p . injection 24 h before an intradermal injection of p . acnes or pbs . to make bone marrow chimeras indicated mice were lethally irradiated ( 10 gy ) and subsequently transplanted with indicated bone marrow . after bone marrow reconstitution ( 8 weeks later ) mice were interdermally injected with p . acnes or pbs . the ear thickness was measured using a micro caliper before and 24 h after bacterial injection . the percentage of ear thickness was calculated by comparing the ear thickness before and 24 hours after injection . wt mice were injected intradermally with p . acnes ( 20 × 10 6 cfu / 20 ml in pbs , left ear ) or with an equal amount of pbs ( right ear ) ( fig4 a ). mice were treated with vehicle ( n = 11 ) or three intraperitoneal injections of il - 1ra ( anakinra , 150 mg / kg , n = 13 ) at the 8 h intervals or a single i . p . injection of anti - il1β antibody ( 200 mg / ml ) one hour prior to p . acnes or pbs challenge . the ear swelling as measured 24 hrs later is presented . asc −/− mice were challenged the same way with p . acnes . the resulting ear swelling ( fig4 b ) and pro - and mature - il1β in ear extracts ( fig4 c ) are presented . fig4 d shows the histology ( he ) of wt mice having received p . acnes plus pbs , anakinra or anti - il1β treatment . histology of an asc −/− mouse challenged with p . acnes is also shown in fig4 e and f . wt mice reconstituted with wt ( n = 8 - 10 ), asc −/− ( n = 12 ) or nlrp3 −/− ( n = 8 ) bone marrow were challenged with p . acnes or pbs as described above . the resulting swelling ( fig4 e ) and histology of the infected ear ( fig4 f ) are presented . tlr2 −/− ( n = 10 ) were intradermally injected with p . acnes or pbs one hour after treatment with il - 1ra ( n = 10 ) or anti - il - 1β antibody ( n = 9 ) as described above . the resulting ear swelling ( fig4 g ) and histology ( fig4 i ) are presented . western blot analysis of pro - and mature il - 1β did not show any difference between wt and tlr2 −/− mice ( fig4 h ). injection of 20 × 10 6 cfu p . acnes intradermally in the ear of c57bl / 6 wt mice resulted in manifest ear swelling ( fig4 a ), production of pro - and mature il - 1β ( fig4 c ) and abundant subcutaneous neutrophil infiltration resembling a pustule at the site of p . acnes injection all within 24 h ( fig4 d ). when c57bl / 6 wt mice were compared to asc - deficient mice , ear swelling ( fig4 b ), production of pro - and mature il - 1β ( fig4 c ) and subcutaneous neutrophil infiltration ( fig4 d ) were all dramatically reduced . in nlrp3 −/− mice the above features were similarly to asc −/− mice strongly reduced . p . acnes - infected mice were treated intraperitoneally prior to intradermal p . acnes injection with il - 1 receptor antagonist ( il - 1ra ) or anti - il - 1β antibody . in this case also , a significant reduction in ear swelling ( fig4 a ) and subcutaneous neutrophil infiltration was observed in il - 1ra and anti - il1β - treated ( fig4 d ), confirming the crucial role of in situ il - 1β production for p . acnes induced neutrophil infiltration of the skin . a bone marrow transplantation was performed after lethal irradiation in order to generate wt mice reconstituted with wt , asc −/− or nlrp3 −/− myeloid cells . after verification of chimerism in the asc −/− or nlrp3 −/− bone marrow transplanted mice , chimeras were injected intradermally with p . acnes as above . ear swelling ( fig4 e ) and neutrophilic infiltration of the skin ( fig4 f ) was dramatically reduced in chimeric mice harboring asc −/− or nlrp3 −/− myeloid cells when compared mice transplanted with wt bone marrow , indicating that myeloid and radiosensitive cells , but stromal cells such as keratinocytes or sebocytes mediate the cutaneous inflammatory responses to p . acnes . to determine if tlr2 signaling is required for the inflammatory skin response to p . acnes in vivo , p . acnes was injected intradermally to tlr2 - deficient mice and compared ear swelling and inflammatory infiltration of the injected ear to that of wild - type mice and asc −/− mice . no significant difference in ear swelling or cutaneous inflammation was observed between tlr2 −/− and wild - type mice ( fig4 g ). moreover , production of pro - il - 1β as detected by western blotting of infected ears ( fig4 h ), did not require tlr2 , as il - 1β levels were similar in the ears of tlr2 - deficient and wild - type mice . furthermore , treatment of tlr2 −/− mice with il1 - ra or anti - il - βantibody blocked the development of ear swelling ( fig4 g ) and cutaneous inflammation ( fig4 i ), formally demonstrating that the cutaneous inflammatory response observed in the ears of p . acnes infected mice dependent on il - 1β production and independent of tlr2 signaling .
the invention provides inhibitors capable of binding to a member of the inflammasome group comprised of il - 1β , il - 1 receptor type 1 , nlrp3 , asc , caspase - 1 and cathepsin b with a dissociation constant of 10 - 8 mol / l or smaller for the prevention and treatment of acne , specifically an antibody , an antibody fragment , an antibody - like molecule , an oligopeptide of 6 to 30 amino acid residues , a nucleic acid aptamer molecule of 10 to 75 nucleotides in length or a soluble polypeptide comprising a contiguous amino acid sequence of at least 30 amino acids comprised within the protein sequence of a member of the group comprised of il - 1β , il - 1 receptor type 1 , il - 1 receptor type 2 , nlrp3 , asc and caspase - 1 . similarly , an interfering rna or an antisense modulator of gene expression of il - 1β , i l - 1β receptor type 1 , nlrp3 , asc , caspase - 1 and cathepsin b are provided for the prevention or treatment of acne .