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Human Body Found to Make Its Own Ozone
(ANI) -- Scientists
have for the first time found that the human body makes ozone, the reactive
gas-most famous as the ultraviolet ray-absorbing component of the ozone
layer.
Investigators at The
Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) who made the original discovery, say
that the ozone appears to be produced in a process involving human immune
cells known as neutrophils and human immune proteins known as antibodies.
"It is a tremendously
efficient chemical and biological process," says Associate Professor
in the Department of Chemistry Paul Wentworth, who adds that the presence
of ozone in the human body may be linked to inflammation, and therefore
this work may have tremendous ramifications for treating inflammatory
diseases.
Ozone is a reactive
form of oxygen that exists naturally as a trace gas in the atmosphere.
It is perhaps best known for its crucial role absorbing ultraviolet radiation
in the stratosphere, where it is concentrated in a so-called ozone layer,
protecting life on earth from solar radiation.
Ozone is also a familiar
component of air in industrial and urban settings where the gas is a
hazardous component of smog. However, ozone has never before been detected
in biology.
Two years ago, Lerner
and Wentworth demonstrated that antibodies are able to produce ozone
and other chemical oxidants when they are fed a reactive form of oxygen
called singlet oxygen. And late last year, Lerner, Wentworth, and Babior
demonstrated that the oxidants produced by antibodies can destroy bacteria
by poking holes in their cell walls, according to an article in the journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
This was a completely
unexpected development, since for the last 100 years, immunologists believed
that antibodies-proteins secreted into the blood by the immune system-acted
only to recognize foreign pathogens and attract lethal "effector" immune
cells to the site of infection.
The work of the TSRI
scientists suggests that the antibacterial effect of neutrophils is enhanced
by antibodies. In addition to killing the bacteria themselves, the neutrophils
feed singlet oxygen to the antibodies, which convert it into ozone, adding
weapons to the assault. (ANI)
Copyright © 2001 ANI-Asian
News International. All rights reserved.
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