Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Epithelial Barrier: Protector and Trigger of Allergic Disorders

This review explores the epithelial barrier hypothesis, which proposes that disruption of skin, lung, and gut epithelial barriers by environmental exposures such as microplastics and pollutants drives the rising incidence of allergic and inflammatory diseases.

2022 Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Involvement and repair of epithelial barrier dysfunction in allergic diseases

This review summarizes how environmental factors including pollution, climate change, and industrial chemicals are damaging the protective barriers of our skin, airways, and gut, contributing to the rising rates of allergic diseases worldwide. The authors discuss the "epithelial barrier hypothesis," which proposes that repairing these damaged barriers could be a new strategy for preventing and treating allergies, asthma, and related conditions.

2024 Frontiers in Immunology 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Epithelial barrier hypothesis: Effect of the external exposome on the microbiome and epithelial barriers in allergic disease

This review proposes the 'epithelial barrier hypothesis,' which suggests that modern environmental exposures, including microplastics, air pollution, and processed food additives, are damaging the protective barriers of our skin, gut, and airways. When these barriers break down, foreign substances and bacteria can enter the body and trigger allergic and inflammatory diseases, which have been increasing rapidly in recent decades. The research suggests microplastics may be one of many environmental factors driving the rise in conditions like asthma, food allergies, and eczema.

2022 Allergy 371 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent advances in the epithelial barrier theory

This review explains the "epithelial barrier theory," which links the rise in allergies, autoimmune diseases, and other chronic conditions to environmental pollutants, including micro- and nanoplastics, that damage the protective lining of our skin, lungs, and gut. These pollutants can break down the tight junctions between cells, trigger inflammation, and allow harmful substances to enter the body, potentially contributing to the increase in chronic diseases seen worldwide.

2024 International Immunology 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Epithelial Barrier Theory: The Role of Exposome, Microbiome, and Barrier Function in Allergic Diseases

This review presents the epithelial barrier theory, which proposes that damage to the body's protective barriers is a key driver of allergic diseases. Researchers identified numerous environmental factors including microplastics, nanoparticles, detergents, and processed food additives that can weaken epithelial barriers in the skin, lungs, and gut. The study suggests that the rising prevalence of allergies may be linked to increasing exposure to barrier-disrupting substances in our modern environment.

2023 Allergy Asthma and Immunology Research 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Skin, gut, and lung barrier: Physiological interface and target of intervention for preventing and treating allergic diseases

This review summarizes how the protective barriers of our skin, gut, and lungs can be damaged by environmental factors including microplastics, leading to allergic conditions like asthma, food allergies, and eczema. The authors explain that a person's genetics, microbiome, and environmental exposures all contribute to barrier breakdown, and they highlight current treatments as well as gaps in care for these increasingly common conditions.

2024 Allergy 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental factors in epithelial barrier dysfunction

This review examines how environmental factors from the modern industrialized world -- including air pollution, detergents, nanoparticles, and microplastics -- damage the protective lining of the skin, gut, and airways. Researchers describe how these exposures degrade the proteins that hold barrier cells together, increasing permeability and triggering immune responses linked to allergies, asthma, and inflammatory conditions. The study presents an "epithelial barrier hypothesis" suggesting that widespread barrier dysfunction from environmental pollutants may be driving the rise of chronic inflammatory diseases.

2020 Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 347 citations
Article Tier 2

The External Exposome and Allergies: From the Perspective of the Epithelial Barrier Hypothesis

This review examines how environmental changes including air pollution, global warming, and shifting dietary habits damage epithelial barriers in the body, contributing to increased rates of allergies and inflammation. The authors highlight the need for public awareness and government policies to address the health effects of environmental exposures on current and future generations.

2022 Frontiers in Allergy 60 citations
Article Tier 2

The Concept of One Health for Allergic Diseases and Asthma

This review examined how climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental pollutants including microplastics contribute to rising allergic disease prevalence worldwide, advocating for a One Health approach that integrates human, animal, and ecosystem health strategies.

2023 Allergy Asthma and Immunology Research 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Lifestyle Changes and Industrialization in the Development of Allergic Diseases

This paper describes the "Epithelial Barrier Theory," which proposes that toxic substances in everyday products -- including microplastics, detergents, and air pollution -- damage the protective linings of our skin, lungs, and gut. This damage disrupts the body's microbiome and triggers inflammation that may help explain the global rise in allergies and other immune-related diseases over recent decades.

2024 Current Allergy and Asthma Reports 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Intestinal barrier dysfunction and food allergy

This review applies the epithelial barrier hypothesis to food allergy, arguing that environmental exposures including microplastics, nanoplastics, food additives, and detergents disrupt gut and skin barriers and drive the rise in allergic disease.

2024 Rivista di immunologia ed allergologia pediatrica. 1 citations
Clinical Trial Tier 1

A Survey on Environmental Protective and Risk Factors and Awareness Related to Epithelial Barrier Integrity, Microbiome and Allergic Diseases

This study developed new questionnaires to assess environmental exposures — including microplastics, air pollutants, and detergents — that damage epithelial barriers and contribute to allergic diseases. The epithelial barrier theory links these exposures to microbial dysbiosis and the sharp rise in allergic, autoimmune, and neuropsychiatric conditions since the 1960s.

2025 Allergy
Article Tier 2

Dysregulation of the epithelial barrier by environmental and other exogenous factors

This review examines how environmental and industrial factors can damage the body's epithelial barriers, which serve as the first line of defense against external threats. Researchers found that exposure to agents linked to industrialization and urbanization, including microplastics and other pollutants, can disrupt these protective barriers and trigger immune responses. The study suggests that epithelial barrier dysfunction may play a key role in the increasing prevalence of allergic and inflammatory conditions.

2021 Contact Dermatitis 71 citations
Article Tier 2

The interconnection between environment, immune-nutrition and allergic disease

This review explores the connections between environmental factors, immune-nutrition, and the rising global prevalence of allergic diseases. The study discusses how climate change, air pollution, biodiversity loss, and environmental contaminants including microplastics contribute to immune dysregulation, and highlights the role of the microbiome and dietary factors in modulating allergic disease risk.

2026 Asia Pacific Allergy
Article Tier 2

Epithelial Barrier Hypothesis and Its Comparison with the Hygiene Hypothesis

This review examines the epithelial barrier hypothesis as a framework for understanding the rising prevalence of chronic inflammatory conditions in industrialized societies. Researchers propose that environmental factors associated with industrialization, including exposure to microplastics and other pollutants, may damage epithelial barriers in the skin, gut, and lungs, triggering immune responses that contribute to allergic, autoimmune, and metabolic conditions. The study suggests that the epithelial barrier hypothesis builds upon and complements earlier explanations like the hygiene hypothesis.

2023 Turkish Archives of Pediatrics 16 citations
Article Tier 2

One Health in allergology: A concept that connects humans, animals, plants, and the environment

This review applies the One Health framework to allergology, arguing that the increasing prevalence of allergic diseases reflects interconnections between human, animal, and environmental health, with environmental contaminants including microplastics among the discussed contributing factors.

2021 Allergy 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Beyond allergic progression: From molecules to microbes as barrier modulators in the gut-lung axis functionality

This review explores the epithelial barrier hypothesis, which proposes that dysfunction of gut and lung barriers can trigger allergic responses due to tolerance breakdown. Researchers examined how environmental factors including pollution, food additives, and microplastics can damage epithelial barriers and alter the gut-lung axis, while also discussing how dietary factors and the microbiome may modulate barrier integrity and allergic progression.

2023 Frontiers in Allergy 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Epithelial barrier dysfunction and associated diseases in companion animals: Differences and similarities between humans and animals and research needs

This review examines how environmental pollutants including microplastics, household chemicals, and air pollution are damaging the protective lining (epithelial barriers) of both humans and their pets. The "epithelial barrier theory" suggests that this damage contributes to the rise in allergies, autoimmune conditions, and other inflammatory diseases seen in recent decades. Since pets share our living environments and face similar exposures, studying their health effects can help us better understand the risks these pollutants pose to human health.

2024 Allergy 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Epithelial barrier theory in the context of nutrition and environmental exposure in athletes

This review explains how environmental pollutants including microplastics, cleaning product chemicals, and air pollution can damage the protective barriers lining the skin, lungs, and gut, leading to inflammation and disruption of the body's natural microbiome. Athletes face heightened risk because intense exercise increases breathing rate, processed food intake, and exposure to synthetic equipment and clothing. The findings suggest that microplastics are one of several modern pollutants that may be weakening the body's first line of defense against disease.

2024 Allergy 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Immune-mediated disease caused by climate change-associated environmental hazards: mitigation and adaptation

This review examines how climate change-driven events like wildfires, dust storms, and heatwaves increase air pollution and allergen exposure, contributing to rising rates of asthma, autoimmune diseases, and cancer. The paper specifically notes that nanoplastics, alongside other environmental pollutants, can disrupt skin and mucous membrane barriers and alter the microbiome in ways that trigger immune system dysfunction.

2024 Frontiers in Science 45 citations