[Skin damage by tropospheric ozone]. / Hautschäden durch troposphärisches Ozon.

Tropospheric (ground level) ozone (O3) is a secondary pollutant, emerging from other pollutants in the sunshine. Exposure to O3 correlates with higher pulmonary and cardiovascular mortality and affects reproductive health and the central nervous system acutely and chronically. Skin might be a potentially overlooked target organ of ambient O3. The experimental evidence suggests a positive correlation of O3 exposure with oxidative damage, impaired antioxidant defence and proinflammatory response in the skin. In time series studies it was observed that acute rises in O3 levels correlated with seeking medical help for skin conditions; however, whether these findings are specific to O3, is not yet clear. There is preliminary epidemiological evidence that long-term exposure to O3 is associated with premature skin aging. This finding was independent of co-exposure to other environmental factors affecting skin (e.g. ultraviolet radiation and air pollution). As concentrations of O3 are rising in many regions of the world, adverse cutaneous effects of O3 present a relevant public health concern.

Skin damage by tropospheric ozone.

Tropospheric (ground level) ozone (O3) is a secondary pollutant, emerging from other pollutants in the sunshine. Exposure to O3 correlates with higher pulmonary and cardiovascular mortality and affects reproductive health and the central nervous system acutely and chronically. Skin might be a potentially overlooked target organ of ambient O3. The experimental evidence suggests a positive correlation of O3 exposure with oxidative damage, impaired antioxidant defence and proinflammatory response in the skin. In time series studies it was observed that acute rises in O3 levels correlated with seeking medical help for skin conditions; however, whether these findings are specific to O3, is not yet clear. There is preliminary epidemiological evidence that long-term exposure to O3 is associated with premature skin aging. This finding was independent of co-exposure to other environmental factors affecting skin (e.g. ultraviolet radiation and air pollution). As concentrations of O3 are rising in many regions of the world, adverse cutaneous effects of O3 present a relevant public health concern.

The Interaction Between Human Papillomaviruses and the Stromal Microenvironment.

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are small, double-stranded DNA viruses that replicate in stratified squamous epithelia and cause a variety of malignancies. Current efforts in HPV biology are focused on understanding the virus-host interactions that enable HPV to persist for years or decades in the tissue. The importance of interactions between tumor cells and the stromal microenvironment has become increasingly apparent in recent years, but how stromal interactions impact the normal, benign life cycle of HPVs, or progression of lesions to cancer is less understood. Furthermore, how productively replicating HPV impacts cells in the stromal environment is also unclear. Here we bring together some of the relevant literature on keratinocyte-stromal interactions and their impacts on HPV biology, focusing on stromal fibroblasts, immune cells, and endothelial cells. We discuss how HPV oncogenes in infected cells manipulate other cells in their environment, and, conversely, how neighboring cells may impact the efficiency or course of HPV infection.