Exposure to ambient ozone causes airway hyperreactivity and lung inflammation, which represent an important health concern in humans. Recent clinical and experimental studies contributed to the understanding of the mechanisms of epithelial injury, inflammation and airway hyperreactivity, which is reviewed here. The present data suggest that ozone induced oxidative stress causes inflammasome activation with the release of IL-1, other cytokines and proteases driving lung inflammation leading to the destruction of alveolar epithelia with emphysema and respiratory failure. Insights in the pathogenic pathway may allow to identify novel biomarkers of ozone-induced lung disease and therapeutic targets.
Keywords: DAMP; IL-1; IL-17; NLRP3 inflammasome; ROS; airway hyperreactivity.