title: Multiple sclerosis and air pollution exposure: Mechanisms toward brain autoimmunity.
abstract: The association between neurodegenerative diseases and environmental exposures, in particular air pollution, has been noticed in the last two decades, but the importance of this environmental factor in multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis has not been considered extensively. However, recent evidence suggests that major mechanisms involved in MS pathogenesis, such as inflammatory factors expression, free radicals overproduction, the blood brain barrier (BBB) breakdown, neuroinflammation, vitamin D deficiency and mitochondrial dysfunction could also occur due to exposure to air pollutants. A prospective hypothesis is suggested here in which exposure to air pollutants may initiate destructive mechanisms inducing inflammatory-oxidative cascades, reduction of immunological self-tolerance and neurodegeneration leading to brain autoimmunity.
authors.affiliation: Social Health Determinants Research Center, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.
authors.forename: Sayed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Esmaeil Mousavi
authors.affiliation: MS Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Pouria
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Heydarpour
authors.affiliation: Service de Neurologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Hôpital de Hautepierre, 1, avenue Molière, 67200 Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reis
authors.affiliation: Social Health Determinants Research Center, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.
authors.forename: Masoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amiri
authors.affiliation: MS Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: sahraian1350@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Sahraian
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000818:Animals; D015551:Autoimmunity; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005609:Free Radicals; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology*; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000378:metabolism; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D005609:Free Radicals; D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Air pollution; Autoimmunity; Blood brain barrier; Multiple sclerosis; Neuroinflammation; Oxidative stress