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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Isolation and Culture of Primary Mouse Keratinocytes from Neonatal and Adult Mouse Skin
Published on: July 14, 2017
Urban particulate matter impairs human epidermal keratinocyte biology via the TRPV1-mitochondrial axis and
Kitae Kwon1, Gyeonghyeon Kim2, Sae Woong Oh1
1Molecular Dermatology Laboratory, Department of Integrative Biotechnology, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon City, Gyunggi Do 16419, Korea.
Abstract:
Urban particulate matter (UPM) is a major airborne pollutant that affects skin health, yet its action mechanisms in keratinocytes remain unclear. This study shows the possibility that UPM impairs keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation through transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1)-centered signaling cascades. TRPV1 activation by UPM induced intracellular calcium influx and mitochondrial dysfunction leading to ROS generation. TRPV1-Ca2 +-dependent mitochondrial ROS mediated DNA damage, as indicated by increased γ-H2AX, and activated p53 and p21, resulting in G2/M arrest and reduced proliferation. In parallel, TRPV1 activation was associated with suppression of Notch signaling, leading to impaired keratinocyte differentiation. Pharmacological inhibition of TRPV1 restored both proliferation and differentiation in vitro, suggesting TRPV1 as a key upstream regulator. Collectively, these findings suggest the possibility that targeting the TRPV1-mitochondrial axis and TRPV1-Notch signaling may provide therapeutic strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of environmental pollutants on skin health.
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