Dosing Human Dermal Fibroblasts with Diesel Particulate Matter Leads to an Increase in Oxidative Stress

Abstract

Air pollution is a major problem facing the world today. One major pollutant is fine particulate matter (PM2.5) which is classified as any particle with a 2.5ug diameter, typically diesel particulate matter (DPM) and soot. With such small particle sizes, it is very easy for DPM to enter the body and impact the cardiovascular system (Wang et al., 2015), immune system (Wei and Tang, 2018), lungs (Liu et al., 2017), and even the nervous system (Shou et al., 2019). There are two major points of contact for these particles: through the airway and through the skin (Piao et al., 2018). Since the skin is the body’s largest organ, it has a large surface area that is exposed to air pollutants such as DPM. Learning how DPM impacts the skin will help to understand how these health issues can be avoided. In this study, I aim to look at the viability and change in gene expression of inflammation and collagen genes in NHDFs when treated with DPM. I expect to find an increase in inflammation (IL1A), tissue remodeling (MMP9), and antioxidant genes (NQO1 and NFE2L2), as well as a decrease in collagen (COL1A1).