Because minimal data are available regarding the pulmonary effects of ozone (O3) at levels less than 0.27 ppm, six groups of healthy young males were exposed for 2.5 h to one of the following O3 concentrations: 0.0, 0.12, 0.18, 0.24, 0.30, or 0.40 ppm. Fifteen-minute periods of rest and exercise (65 l/min minute ventilation) were alternated during the first 2 h of exposure. Coughing was observed at all levels of O3 exposure. Small changes in forced-expiratory spirometric variables [forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s, and mean expiratory flow rate between 25 and 75% FVC] were observed at 0.12 and 0.18 ppm O3, and larger changes were found at O3 levels greater than or equal to 0.24 ppm. Changes in tidal volume and respiratory frequency during exercise, specific airway resistance, the presence of pain on deep inspiration, and shortness of breath occurred at O3 levels greater than or equal to 0.24 ppm. In conclusion, pulmonary effects of O3 were observed at levels much lower than that for which these effects have been previously described. Stimulation of airway receptors is probably the mechanism responsible for the majority of observed changes; however, the existence of a second mechanism of action is postulated.

Measurements of ambient ozone (O2) concentration during daylight hours have shown a spectrum of concentration profiles, from a relatively stable to a variable pattern usually reaching a peak level in the early afternoon. Several recent studies have suggested that in estimating exposure dose (O3 concentration [C] x exposure time [T] x ventilation [V]), O3 concentration needs to be weighted more heavily than either ventilation or duration of exposure in the estimates. In this study we tested the hypothesis that regardless of concentration pattern and exposure rate the same exposure dose of O3 will induce the same spirometric response. We exposed 23 healthy male volunteers (20 to 35 yr of age) for 8 h to air, 0.12 ppm O3 (steady-state), and a triangular exposure pattern (concentration increased steadily from zero to 0.24 ppm over the first 4 h and decreased back to zero by 8 h). During the first 30 min of each hour, subjects exercised for 30 min at minute ventilation (VE) approximately 40 L/min. The order of the exposures was randomized, and the exposures were separated by at least 7 days. The response patterns over the 8-h periods for spirometric variables in both O3 exposures were statistically different from air exposure changes and from each other. For FEV1 the p values were 0.017 between air and steady-state profile, 0.002 between air and triangular profile, and 0.037 between steady-state and triangular profiles. Although in the triangular pattern of exposure the maximal O3 concentration was reached at 4 h, the maximum FEV1 decrement (10.2%) was observed at 6 h of exposure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

To determine the influence of exercise on pulmonary dose of inhaled pollutants, we compared biomarkers of inhaled ozone (O3) dose and toxic effect between exercise levels in humans, and between humans and rats. Resting human subjects were exposed to labeled O3 (18O3, 0.4 ppm, for 2 hours) and alveolar O3 dose measured as the concentration of excess 18O in cells and extracellular material of nasal, bronchial, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). We related O3 dose to effects (changes in BALF protein, LDH, IL-6, and antioxidant substances) measurable in the BALF. A parallel study of resting subjects examined lung function (FEV1) changes following O3. Subjects exposed while resting had 18O concentrations in BALF cells that were 1/5th of those of exercising subjects and directly proportional to the amount of O3 breathed during exposure. Quantitative measures of alveolar O3 dose and toxicity that were observed previously in exercising subjects were greatly reduced or non-observable in O3 exposed resting subjects. Resting rats and resting humans were found to have a similar alveolar O3 dose.

We have previously suggested that ozone (O3)-induced pain-related symptoms and inhibition of maximal inspiration are due to stimulation of airway C fibers (M. J. Hazucha, D. V. Bates, and P. A. Bromberg. J. Appl. Physiol. 67: 1535-1541, 1989). If this were so, pain suppression or inhibition by opioid-receptor agonists should partially or fully reverse O3-induced symptomatic and lung functional responses. The objectives of this study were to determine whether O3-induced pain limits maximal inspiration and whether endogenous opioids contribute to modulation of the effects of inhaled O3 on lung function. The participants in this double-blind crossover study were healthy volunteers (18-59 yr) known to be "weak" (WR; n = 20) and "strong" O3 responders (SR; n = 42). They underwent either two 2-h exposures to air or two 2-h exposures to 0. 42 parts/million O3 with moderate intermittent exercise. Immediately after post-O3 spirometry, the WR were randomly given either naloxone (0.15 mg/kg iv) or saline, whereas SR randomly received either sufentanil (0.2 microgram/kg iv) or saline. O3 exposure significantly (P < 0.001) impaired lung function. In SR, sufentanil rapidly, although not completely, reversed both the chest pain and spirometric effects (forced expiratory volume in 1 s; P < 0.0001) compared with saline. Immediate postexposure administration of saline or naloxone had no significant effect on WR. Plasma beta-endorphin levels were not related to an individual's O3 responsiveness. Cutaneous pain variables showed a nonsignificant weak association with O3 responsiveness. These observations demonstrate that nociceptive mechanisms play a key role in modulating O3-induced inhibition of inspiration but not in causing lack of spirometric response to O3 exposure in WR.