Oxidants and Lung Biochemistry

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Abstract
A brief review of the literature relative to the biochemical effects of oxidant air pollutants of mammalian systems is presented. Specific oxidants discussed are ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and the photochemical oxidant mixture. Enzyme alterations precede many of the structural indications of tissue degradation and offer a sensitive method for detection prior to actual irreversible damage. The initiation of additional biochemical research concerning normal lung metabolic processes is necessary in order to interpret the effects of air pollution more intelligently. A total research approach for determining the health effects of air pollution must include laboratory animal toxicological studies, laboratory clinical investigation of humans, and epidemiological studies under naturally occurring conditions. Oxidants such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and peroxyacyl nitrates, when inhaled at sublethal concentrations, may alter, impair, or otherwise interfere with normal physiological systems. Because all living systems depend upon complex biochemical processes, an understanding of these processes is essential for

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