Aged polystyrene microplastics exacerbate alopecia associated with tight junction injuries and apoptosis via oxidative stress pathway in skin

Environ Int. 2024 Apr:186:108638. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108638. Epub 2024 Apr 7.
Aged polystyrene microplastics exacerbate alopecia associated with tight junction injuries and apoptosis via oxidative stress pathway in skin
Qian Li 1, Lehua Jiang 2, Jianhai Feng 1, Xinhui Wang 1, Xusheng Wang 1, Xuejuan Xu 3, Weiwei Chu 4

Microplastics (MPs) are pervasive pollutants in the natural environment and contribute to increased levels of illness in both animals and humans. However, thespecific impacts of MPs on skin damage and alopecia are not yet well understood. In this study, we have examined the effects of two types of polystyrene MPs (pristine and aged) on skin and hair follicle damage in mice. UV irradiation changed the chemical and physical properties of the aged MPs, including functional groups, surface roughness, and contact angles. In both in vivo and in vitro experiments, skin and cell injuries related to oxidative stress, apoptosis, tight junctions (TJs), alopecia, mitochondrial dysfunction, and other damages were observed. Mechanistically, MPs and aged MPs can induce TJs damage via the oxidative stress pathway and inhibition of antioxidant-related proteins, and this can lead to alopecia. The regulation of cell apoptosis was also observed, and this is involved in the ROS-mediated mitochondrial signaling pathway. Importantly, aged MPs showed exacerbated toxicity, which may be due to their elevated surface irregularities and altered chemical compositions. Collectively, this study suggests a potential therapeutic approach for alopecia and hair follicle damage caused by MPs pollution.

Keywords: Aged Polystyrene microplastics; Alopecia; Apoptosis; Oxidative stress; Polystyrene microplastics; Tight junctions.

Long form: https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/271763/1-s2.0-S0160412024X00033/1-s2.0-S0160412024002241/main.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEAQaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJGMEQCIGU8TcxPufmcmR%2FpQflY%2B7bjGQ2vEeMZqxQ%2F78Qu6sKdAiBZ3CWVIJv2bW8wuVwAb3zZ9Nm3OOlnrbj9dfGGhRgbUCqzBQgdEAUaDDA1OTAwMzU0Njg2NSIMuIF%2BfXExbmiSZWCXKpAFEKjZxqPGHIRvtdXWbkmktM3ZxDMz4akFaQhEDWzA6ktjKRTrnycp0O2PLTzxsyJ9FZUaVhDSs9vNa5zj9YW4iF1CrPUh663zVVkzJKt0fECuZCEZfzzX7aA85yzvT5pp%2BI3YM2s5guRBOtCU1FMq31DfFE1mCWScAs2sMLFzCVLOOW7F7qMK3YP8ED8yhSnyPEOYojpEWDQcpDFouirwZceIqEJrmerOxkGHBljtCSlHsaiWmvZMKbq6mfXeOg0Tqv0N5%2Ff67xSED4WkJDiLCzBCqeKStMU2ra51Mwaf9Pxqd8zi2WXv0NsoymCCYwUKMaRAarrgTwwcYmTr%2FaFHP2MBJpggtVvnxTaiCDzj8qpoRDRR55rxzKHqMmi%2BFtfeAeDpKwsS4cbRzN2J4%2FKu4C72EFqKcqOCj2fGAT2CEymTU41yrugQVsOwmdt3%2Fm6ruczYpj5JaGDH3wFER0l1grvTmSMvjPuDuYggWR4h9vvahoaTBtyzsdu69sNhOEVM1NrPN0DyJR4pIzV%2FI33Ydl%2BocyEFrFk1URGrhY6UiRur04BPc38mK%2FlH5IgAq9mIL9agJ3%2FTHEj2fHIgZdFiBSvq3h3q1vEdyv3PPRPFO8NZhnxp2kZ0BtRzlXN6Mr121ANEbCXchzbULig36YNgyrFbRitNtz%2Bkmn2%2Fb8gYeig0Knkj4OOhN7cYBw%2BWCDDodIIATIwRTh6SgN4ZaPMWHnOGxOMEi6V2PTgyUQJqi%2FFwX7qtf9%2FQS3UpNrMJuiRwPbaDdvcxipE4%2BfRC4q6AUN%2BlwRQIkTUteYdXiDp3%2FTA3miiMOg3L8H0v%2BEWWAohfgcs9d1TUu%2BRgGUUbEc5XkxoN%2BLtPElrTCauno%2FSKofswi8%2B4tgY6sgExZdtqnFkRfSiCABYNHp%2FMIU3GfQYgac9NUliGrZMqbGGFx0hdC%2F%2FpP9TpIxr%2BeVfCXxyp8sUzWmHR6Qka49DtGOn4gn6f1u1vGZwWzNjelR8xHHIjhIBX1yWeslEaRBUBQaNt4%2B3zD5RVAPGO%2FH6F44rd6nZr486HRNcCA8Nt4z3ENZHApNohstiR3V3vUgOfjQH%2FV92unQkjPsig76ej%2BzqFgXoFQ5yZaPTKXVGnQira&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20240827T202028Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTYSEYCAJPG%2F20240827%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=ba9c5ef1d61493e50889b77ab6c80516db9bea47396353a5eda1d21aa505ce17&hash=5f12e4775c28ad4a7d6e59d8f64a4e2e99d4c91444cfc062778e9958d6ca31b3&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S0160412024002241&tid=spdf-e58fb73f-dd7c-4649-af48-69c13afb1de7&sid=518b0c0e3ff7c945c809cd2675ab92ca5432gxrqb&type=client&tsoh=d3d3LnNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QuY29t&ua=0d1f5704570b0c5656&rr=8b9ec32c99b46e94&cc=cz

I worked in a plastics factory for many years and we used polystyrene a fair bit. The odour was quite strong. Maybe thats why I lost a lot of hair. I mostly have diffuse hair loss.

With mounting evidence of this pervasive toxin, it seems near impossible to avoid, so I have been accumulating some idea of measures to deal with elimination and/or detoxifying it.

A short list here and perhaps we can all add in some ideas:

Lactoferrin
Colostrum, which also contains some Lactoferrin.

And with water, boiling or distillation and/or activated charcoal helps.