BIOMARKERS OF LUNG INFLAMMATION IN RECREATIONAL JOGGERS EXPOSED TO OZONE

Humans exhibit an acute inflammatory response in the lungs after contr olled laboratory exposure to ozone. The present study was designed to test whether biomarkers of inflammation are detectable in humans expos ed to ozone and associated copollutants under natural conditions outdo ors. Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was carried out on 19 normal volunteer joggers from Governors Island, NY, who exercised in the afternoon during the 1992 summer (S1) season. Fifteen subjects were retested during the following, low ozone, winter season (W). The BAL protocol involved an initial instillation of 20 ml saline followed by four sequential 50-ml saline washes carried out in both the right middle lobe and the lingula. The eight 50-ml samples were pooled as th e ''alveolar'' sample. Analyses performed on the alveolar lavage sampl es included cell differentials, release of IL-8, TNF-alpha, and reacti ve oxygen species (ROS) by pooled cells, and levels of IL-8, protein, LDH, fibronectin, alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha 1-AT), complement fragmen t 3a (C3a), and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) in lavage fluids. Release of ROS by stimulated BAL cells was lower in S1 than in W (p = 0.03). I n contrast, LDH levels in BAL fluids were 2-fold higher in 51 than in W (p = 0.02), as were IL-8 (p = 0.12) and PGE(2) (p = 0.06). These res ults suggest a possible ongoing inflammatory response in the lungs of recreational joggers exposed to ozone and associated copollutants duri ng the summer months.