Adverse Influence of Ozone on Pulmonary Bactericidal Activity of Murine Lung

Abstract

As an air pollutant, ozone is considered to be an important predisposing factor in pulmonary bacterial infections^1–2. Little is known about the precise mechanisms responsible for the diminished resistance to infection, but it seems that the pathogenesis of these infections involves inhibition of pulmonary antibacterial activity. In vivo investigations have demonstrated that mice exposed to ozone have an increased mortality from infection with pathogenic streptococci³ or K. pneumoniae^2,4. Experiments using an in vitro method for measuring alveolar macrophage function have shown marked impairment in phagocytic activity after exposure of mice to ozone⁵. These results prompted us to study the effect of ozone on the in vivo rate of bacterial killing by the murine lung. We show inhibition of pulmonary bactericidal activity from short term exposures to ozone concentrations as low as 0.62 p.p.m.