Proteomic Methods to Study Autophagy in Skin Exposed to Pollutants

Autophagy refers to the natural cellular process by which cells degrade and recycle their own damaged or dysfunctional cellular components. It is an essential mechanism for maintaining cellular homeostasis removing toxic substances and providing energy during times of stress or nutrient deprivation. When autophagy is dysregulated or impaired, it can have detrimental effects on cell function and overall health. Studying autophagy in skin exposed to pollutants can provide valuable insights into the cellular mechanisms underlying pollutant-induced skin damage. Proteomic methods, which involve the large-scale analysis of proteins, can be employed to investigate the changes in protein expression associated with biological processes including autophagy. Here, we thus describe a method where LC-MS/MS was applied to identify the deregulated proteins in pollutant exposed-skin. Using bioinformatics and statistical analysis, we extracted the qualitative and quantitative information for proteins involved in autophagy. These deregulated proteins were then validated by immunohistochemistry (IHC). These methods help to understand how the pollutants affect the autophagy process.