Tanabe Tsuyoshi, Yamaguchi Natsu, Okuda Masayuki, Ishimaru Yasutaka, Takahashi Hidekazu
Department of Public Health, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine.
Nihon Eiseigaku Zasshi. 2015;70(2):115-9. doi: 10.1265/jjh.70.115.
Environmental pollutants (such as diesel exhaust particles and silica) cause disorders ranging from bronchial asthma to malignant tumors. In recent years, it has been reported that some of the signaling pathways in which environmental contaminants act in vivo are associated with innate immunity. Innate immunity recognizes ligands and induces inflammation. Those ligands are pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs: e.g., lipopolysaccharide) and danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs: e.g., cholesterol crystallization or uric acid crystal). Activation of innate immunity stimulates the acquired immunity system. Therefore, innate immunity regulates the strength of the general immune system. Furthermore, crystal silica, which is an environmental pollutant, activates innate immunity as a ligand. Innate immunity involves the membrane-bound Toll-like receptors (TLR) and cytoplasm-localized nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptors (NLR). We reported the innate immunity-system-related diseases such as Crohn's disease, Blau syndrome, myelogenous leukemia, and sarcoidosis. An inflammasome complex containing NLR has attracted attention owing to its correlation with the onset of several diseases. It is reported that the inflammasome activation is related to the development of lifestyle-related diseases such as myocardial infarction and fatty liver. It is also reported that the mechanism by which crystal silica and asbestos cause inflammation involves the inflammasome activation. Analyzing the genes of innate immunity contributes to the clarification of the mechanism of disease onset caused by environmental pollutants.
环境污染物（如柴油废气颗粒和二氧化硅）会引发从支气管哮喘到恶性肿瘤等一系列病症。近年来，有报道称环境污染物在体内发挥作用的一些信号通路与先天免疫相关。先天免疫识别配体并引发炎症。这些配体包括病原体相关分子模式（PAMPs：如脂多糖）和危险相关分子模式（DAMPs：如胆固醇结晶或尿酸结晶）。先天免疫的激活会刺激获得性免疫系统。因此，先天免疫调节着整个免疫系统的强度。此外，作为一种环境污染物的结晶二氧化硅作为配体激活先天免疫。先天免疫涉及膜结合的Toll样受体（TLR）和定位于细胞质的核苷酸结合寡聚化结构域（NOD）样受体（NLR）。我们报道了与先天免疫系统相关的疾病，如克罗恩病、布劳综合征、骨髓性白血病和结节病。一种含有NLR的炎性小体复合物因其与多种疾病的发病相关而受到关注。据报道，炎性小体激活与心肌梗死和脂肪肝等生活方式相关疾病的发展有关。也有报道称结晶二氧化硅和石棉引发炎症的机制涉及炎性小体激活。分析先天免疫的基因有助于阐明环境污染物导致疾病发病的机制。
