Effect of ozone exposure on lung functions and plasma prostaglandin and thromboxane concentrations in guinea pigs

Male Hartley guinea pigs were exposed either to filtered air or to 1 ppm ozone (O3) for 1 hr. At 2, 8, 24, or 48 hr after exposure we measured ventilation, respiratory mechanics, lung volumes, diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO), and alveolar volume (VA) in anesthetized, tracheotomized animals. Respiratory frequency and tidal volume were unchanged in all groups. Pulmonary resistance was increased 2 hr after O3 but returned to control at 8 hr and thereafter. Prolonged reductions in lung volumes (total lung capacity, vital capacity, functional residual capacity, and residual volume) as well as in DLCO and VA occurred after O3, with maximum decreases at 8 and 24 hr postexposure. Increased ratios of wet lung weight to body weight were seen at 2, 8, and 24 hr. In separate groups of animals, also exposed either to filtered air or to 1 ppm O3, plasma eicosanoid (EC) concentrations were measured at 2, 8, 24, 48, or 72 hr after exposure. Significant increases in thromboxane B2 concentrations were seen at 2, 24, and 48 hr after exposure. Plasma concentrations of 6-keto prostaglandin F1 alpha (PGF1 alpha) and prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) were increased at 24 hr and at 24, 48, and 72 hr, respectively. The nature of this long-term pulmonary response to a short-term exposure to O3 suggests alveolar involvement, including probable alveolar duct constriction and localized pulmonary edema. Although changes in plasma EC concentrations were observed concurrent with impaired lung functions, no simple causal relationship was apparent from these studies.