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Comparison of Pollutant Effects on Cutaneous Inflammasomes Activation
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Researchers compared how different environmental pollutants, including microplastics, cigarette smoke, diesel exhaust, ozone, and UV light, activate inflammatory pathways in human skin tissue. They found that each pollutant triggered distinct patterns of inflammasome activation, with microplastics and diesel exhaust producing particularly notable inflammatory responses. The study provides evidence that airborne pollutants, including microplastics, may contribute to skin inflammation and related skin conditions through specific molecular pathways.
The skin is the outermost layer of the body and, therefore, is exposed to a variety of stressors, such as environmental pollutants, known to cause oxinflammatory reactions involved in the exacerbation of several skin conditions. Today, inflammasomes are recognized as important modulators of the cutaneous inflammatory status in response to air pollutants and ultraviolet (UV) light exposure. In this study, human skin explants were exposed to the best-recognized air pollutants, such as microplastics (MP), cigarette smoke (CS), diesel engine exhaust (DEE), ozone (O3), and UV, for 1 or 4 days, to explore how each pollutant can differently modulate markers of cutaneous oxinflammation. Exposure to environmental pollutants caused an altered oxidative stress response, accompanied by increased DNA damage and signs of premature skin aging. The effect of specific pollutants being able to exert different inflammasomes pathways (NLRP1, NLRP3, NLRP6, and NLRC4) was also investigated in terms of scaffold formation and cell pyroptosis. Among all environmental pollutants, O3, MP, and UV represented the main pollutants affecting cutaneous redox homeostasis; of note, the NLRP1 and NLRP6 inflammasomes were the main ones modulated by these outdoor stressors, suggesting their role as possible molecular targets in preventing skin disorders and the inflammaging events associated with environmental pollutant exposure.
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[Microplastic and skin-an update].
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This review summarizes current evidence on microplastics (1–5000 µm) and nanoplastics as skin-relevant pollutants, covering how they enter and interact with skin tissue. Evidence suggests dermal uptake is possible, particularly through damaged skin, and that these particles may carry additional chemical hazards.
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