Metabolic Changes and Immunity Suppression Parameters as Biomarkers of Environmental Pollutants

Pollution occurring in our surroundings is one of the most consequential challenges to health in the modern world. Any foreign material that occupies space in the environment and produces a hazardous effect on human health and their activities, comes under the category of environmental pollutants. These environmental pollutants are present in the environment through human activities as well as by nature which leads to pollution. These pollutants originate from the soil, air, water, noise, radioactive material, thermal, agriculture, light, etc. having unfavorable effects on human immunity and metabolic processes. Among all the pollutants, air pollutants play a vital role in immunity deficiency and metabolic disorders. Air pollution causes a range of metabolic diseases, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, stroke, cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, peripheral artery disease, skin diseases, neurological disorders, some types of cancer, etc. It also affects normal metabolic functioning and regulation. These metabolism-sensitive disorders usually result from disruptions to the major metabolic and molecular signaling pathways, which can be caused by hereditary and lifestyle factors, as well as exposure to pollutants such endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The metabolism of fatty acids, tryptophan, steroid hormone production, and tyrosine can be triggered by air pollution, leading to a variety of disorders. The metabolism of fatty acids, tryptophan, steroid hormone production, and tyrosine can be triggered by air pollution, leading to a variety of disorders. Cardiopulmonary diseases like CVD, COPD, and Metsyn, which are characterized by abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, and low HDL, can be initiated by air pollution, which directly increases the levels of the cytokines IL-6, TNF-α and indirectly activates the NF-κB, AP-1 inflammatory pathways. Environmental pollutants also have a mutant effect on immunity responses that can evoke toxicity to the immune system. Immune responses triggered by on exposure to air pollutants immune responses are triggered, which are mediated by specific NLR- and TLR-dependent mechanisms. Air pollutants directly interacting with the receptor or indirectly by producing secondary mediators like DAMP or PAMP alter the activation of TLR signaling, and altered TLR signaling results in modified cytokines profiles and an increment in proinflammatory responses. Various immune cells can be affected by environmental pollutants, including macrophages, neutrophils, dendritic cells that give notification to alter immune responses, and lymphocytes that enact them. Diseases like autoimmune diseases, asthama, cardiovascular diseases, neural ailment, bronchitis, 2[SARS-CoV-2], connective tissue diseases, inflammatory bowl diseases, skin diseases and cancer etc are caused due to immunity suppression. In this chapter we aim to summarize the effect of ambient pollutants on the immune system and metabolic processes is vital to understanding how pollution leads to diseases and how that pathology could be abrogated.