STUDIES ON THE BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF OZONE .6. PRODUCTION OF TRANSFORMING GROWTH-FACTOR-1 BY HUMAN BLOOD AFTER OZONE TREATMENT

After exposing human whole blood from normal volunteers to ozone conce ntrations ranging from 22 to 156 mu g/ml, we have shown that, upon inc ubation of up to 8 hours, there is a significant release of transformi ng growth factor beta (TGF-PI). In comparison to TGF-beta 1, TGF-beta 2 production is not influenced by ozone concentrations. In line with o ur previous findings if appears that blood in the presence of heparin and 5mM Ca,(2+) allows a consistent production of tumor necrosis facto r a (TNF alpha) and the release of low and non-hazardous levels of fre e hemoglobin. These data support the contention that autohemotherapy p erformed after treating blood with ozone followed by reinfusion into t he donor, may represent a valuable therapeutic approach for achieving immunoregulatory effects.