Novel Mechanisms of Ozone-Induced Pulmonary Inflammation and Resolution, and the Potential Protective Role of Scavenger Receptor BI

The mechanisms by which ozone injures the lungs continue to be issues of science and policy import. Research Report 204 presents a study led by Dr. Kymberly Gowdy of East Carolina University (now at Ohio State University) and colleagues in which they evaluated how acute exposure of mice to ozone affects initiation and resolution of the inflammatory response in the lung. This study is the first to examine the role of specialized pro-resolving mediators, key lipids of the resolution phase of inflammation, in how lung cells are activated and later removed by macrophages. It provides a rationale for future research to evaluate whether supplementation with specialized proresolving mediators may mitigate human conditions that involve chronic inflammation, such as chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

Dr. Gowdy was funded under HEI’s Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award program.