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Review
. 2022 Jul 17;11(14):2220.
doi: 10.3390/cells11142220.

Effects of Air Pollution on Cellular Senescence and Skin Aging

Affiliations
Review

Effects of Air Pollution on Cellular Senescence and Skin Aging

Ines Martic et al. Cells. .

Abstract

The human skin is exposed daily to different environmental factors such as air pollutants and ultraviolet (UV) light. Air pollution is considered a harmful environmental risk to human skin and is known to promote aging and inflammation of this tissue, leading to the onset of skin disorders and to the appearance of wrinkles and pigmentation issues. Besides this, components of air pollution can interact synergistically with ultraviolet light and increase the impact of damage to the skin. However, little is known about the modulation of air pollution on cellular senescence in skin cells and how this can contribute to skin aging. In this review, we are summarizing the current state of knowledge about air pollution components, their involvement in the processes of cellular senescence and skin aging, as well as the current therapeutic and cosmetic interventions proposed to prevent or mitigate the effects of air pollution in the skin.

Keywords: air pollution; cosmetics; senescence; skin aging.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The interplay between air pollution, cellular senescence, and skin aging. The review focuses on the topics inflammation, protein quality control, mitochondrial dysfunction, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) in cutaneous skin cells during senescence induced by air pollution. Additionally, we discuss how air pollution components such as particulate matter (PM), ozone, heavy metals, and cigarette smoke impact skin aging. Finally, we summarize the latest information about interventions and cosmetics which were shown to prevent the impact of air pollution in the processes of cellular senescence and skin aging.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic diagram showing the main signaling pathways involved in the process of cellular senescence which are contributing to skin aging. Pollutants act over many signaling pathways that control cell cycle progression and transcriptional regulation of genes involved in inflammation.

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