Response of human ciliated respiratory epithelium to brief in vivo ozone exposure: an ultrastructural study.
Ciliated nasal epithelium obtained from human volunteers exposed under controlled conditions to 0.4 ppm of ozone for 4 hr was examined by transmission electron microscopy. These investigations were initiated to evaluate the utility of human ciliated nasal epithelium as a model for the characterization of possible ultrastructural level cytopathic effects induced by short-term, low-level in vivo exposure to ozone. Particular attention was given to both the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of ciliated cells in the nasal respiratory epithelium in response to ozone exposure. The results of these investigations indicated that cell structure is generally retained and no appreciable manifestation of injury is evident in human nasal mucosa in response to the regimen of ozone exposure employed during these studies. Although these investigations were completed under highly controlled circumstances and with the constraints attendant to research on humans subjects, they may provide a fundamental base for future examinations of the potential injurious effects of ozone on human respiratory epithelium under conditions more relevant to habitual environmental exposure.
D002923:Cilia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005614:Freeze Fracturing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010126:Ozone / Q000633:toxicity*
D010126:Ozone