OZONE EXPOSURE AND THE PRODUCTION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES BY BRONCHOALVEOLAR CELLS IN HUMANS

Abstract

Exposure to ozone injures respiratory epithelium, and the mechanisms may involve the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This study tested the hypothesis that ozone exposure increases the airway burden of ROS to a greater degree in smokers than nonsmokers, and that this effect is independent of ozone-induced changes in spirometry. Healthy subjects were selected as either responders (decrement in FEV₁ > 15%) or non responders (decrement in FEV₁ < 5%) to ozone; each underwent 2 exposures to ozone and 1 to air, with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) performed 30 min (early) and 18 h (late) after exposure. Release of superoxide anion (O₂^-) was used as a measure of ROS release by all BAL cells, and flow cytometry was used to detect ROS production in alveolar macrophages (AM) only. Recovery of AM was approximately threefold greater in smokers than nonsmokers. Unstimulated, but not stimulated, cells obtained by BAL from smokers released approximately twofold greater amounts of O₂^- than cells from non smokers, both early and late after ozone exposure (p = .012 and p = .046, respectively). Stimulated, but not unstimulated, ROS generation by AM from smokers increased following ozone exposure, but the ozone effect was not significant. ROS production by AM decreased in nonsmokers (air vs. ozone late, p