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More people are increasingly relocating from rural areas to larger, more polluted cities, with an estimated 4.4 billion people inhabiting urban areas in 2023 alone (World Bank 2023). The effects of these environmental changes on the skin have been shown to increase stress and push the microbiome towards dysbiosis, which can knock on effects for overall skin health and appearance.
What we know:
Pollutants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) released from vehicles & factories can disrupt microbial interaction stability between cutaneous communities like between bacteria & fungi (i.e., species & strains of Cutibacterium & Malassezia) in regions like the cheek to increase incidence of acne (Leung et al 2020)
PAHs can also affect the cutaneous metabolome by reducing the presence of skin commensals & inhibiting certain functional amino acid pathways that allow them to supply the skin with nutrients, actions that may affect the skin’s ability to maintain a healthy scalp & protect it from pathogen infection (Leung et al 2020)
Individuals in polluted environments possess more fragile microbial networks that are less diverse & full of pathogens, making them more prone to collapse & trigger diseases like seborrheic dermatitis & dandruff (Kim et al 2018)
Disruption to individual microbial networks as a consequence of pollution has been linked to physiological changes in the skin such as weakened skin barrier function & affected the quality of host response to pollution stress like antioxidant capacity & TEWL (Wang et al 2021)
NO2 pollution favours the growth of pathogens like S. aureus over commensals like S. epidermidis & C. tuberculostearicum, triggering dysbiotic conditions like atopic dermatitis or psoriasis (Janvier et al 2020)
Industry impact & potential:
Increasing numbers of people now look to cosmetic products to mitigate the effects of living in a heavily polluted environment on the skin, & the presence of the urban highstreet & the digital market makes it easier than ever to access these products.
Paula's Choice Skincare’s line of Defense skin care promises to offer consumers protection against the worst of pollution, including car exhaust, small particulates & smog using neutralising antioxidants & skin-repairing amino acids. Medik8 also offers an extensive selection of anti-pollution products to protect the skin, including its MICELLAR MOUSSE™ that uses plant extracts & antioxidants to remove impurities & prevent damage caused by pollution.
Our solution:
Sequential is a global leader in human microbiome science & has partnered with hundreds and organisations to support clinical microbiome testing & effective formulation development. We offer extensive support for our clients & offer end-to-end testing services, on diverse clinical demographics, to assess the effects of key components, for example, how the environment & pollution may be affecting skin health.
References:
Janvier X, Alexandre S, Boukerb AM, Souak D, Maillot O, Barreau M, Gouriou F, Grillon C, Feuilloley MGJ, Groboillot A. Deleterious Effects of an Air Pollutant (NO2) on a Selection of Commensal Skin Bacterial Strains, Potential Contributor to Dysbiosis? Front Microbiol. 2020 Dec 8;11:591839. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.591839. PMID: 33363523; PMCID: PMC7752777.
Kim HJ, Kim H, Kim JJ, Myeong NR, Kim T, Park T, Kim E, Choi JY, Lee J, An S, Sul WJ. Fragile skin microbiomes in megacities are assembled by a predominantly niche-based process. Sci Adv. 2018 Mar 7;4(3):e1701581. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1701581. PMID: 29532031; PMCID: PMC5842045.
Leung MHY, Tong X, Bastien P, Guinot F, Tenenhaus A, Appenzeller BMR, Betts RJ, Mezzache S, Li J, Bourokba N, Breton L, Clavaud C, Lee PKH. Changes of the human skin microbiota upon chronic exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon pollutants. Microbiome. 2020 Jun 26;8(1):100. doi: 10.1186/s40168-020-00874-1. PMID: 32591010; PMCID: PMC7320578.
Wang L, Xu YN, Chu CC, Jing Z, Chen Y, Zhang J, Pu M, Mi T, Du Y, Liang Z, Doraiswamy C, Zeng T, Wu J, Chen L. Facial Skin Microbiota-Mediated Host Response to Pollution Stress Revealed by Microbiome Networks of Individual. mSystems. 2021 Aug 31;6(4):e0031921. doi: 10.1128/mSystems.00319-21. Epub 2021 Jul 27. PMID: 34313461; PMCID: PMC8407115.
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