Impact of air pollution and occupational inhalation exposures on neurodegenerative disorders: An epigenetic perspective

Neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) are highly prevalent conditions with genetic and environmental causes. Recently, air pollution has emerged as an important contributor to NDs, causing oxidative stress and neuronal damage in the brain. Identifying early molecular alterations mediating the effects of air pollution on ND pathogenesis would be crucial for implementing personalized medicine approaches, especially for the monitoring of specific categories of highly exposed workers. Epigenetic modifications might be suitable candidates in that sense, since they are highly responsive to environmental stressors, they modulate the expression of multiple ND-related genes, and offer technical advantages as they can be studies in peripheral tissues and are relatively stable in biological samples after collection. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding the association between air pollution inhalation, epigenetics, and NDs. This work will particularly emphasize research gaps, aiming to provide directions for future research with applications in occupational and preventive medicine.