Background: No satisfactory treatment exists for chronic rejection (CR) after lung transplantation (LT). Our objective was to assess whether ozone (O3) treatment could ameliorate CR.
Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley inbred rats (n = 36) were randomly assigned into four groups: (1) control (n = 6), (2) sham (n = 6), (3) LT (n = 12), and (4) O3-LT (n = 12). Animals underwent left LT. O3 was rectally administered daily for 2 weeks before LT (from 20 to 50 μg) and 3 times/wk (50 μg/dose) up to 3 months. CR; acute rejection; and Hspb27, Prdx, Epas1, Gpx3, Vegfa, Sftpa1, Sftpb, Plvap, Klf2, Cldn5, Thbd, Dsip, Fmo2, and Sepp1 mRNA gene expression were determined.
Results: Severe CR was observed in all animals of LT group, but none of the O3-LT animals showed signs of CR, just a mild acute rejection was observed in 1 animal. A significant decrease of Hspb27, Prdx, Epas1, Gpx3, Vegfa, Sftpa1, Sftpb, Plvap, Klf2, Cldn5, Thbd, Dsip, and Fmo2 gene expression in the O3-LT group was observed CONCLUSIONS: O3 therapy significantly delayed the onset of CR regulating the expression of genes involved in its pathogenesis. No known immunosuppressive therapy has been capable of achieving similar results. From a translational point of view, O3 therapy could become a new adjuvant treatment for CR in patients undergoing LT.
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