# Postnatal Ozone and Altered Lung Growth

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2020 · $196,250

## Abstract

Abstract
 Over 50% of the US population, more than 162 million people, live with unhealthy levels
of ozone. This includes 38 million children. Ozone disrupts lung development, changes lung
structure, and exacerbates respiratory disease. Reduced lung functional growth has been
found in young adults with histories of ozone exposure as children. Our central hypothesis is
that ozone-induced lung remodeling during lung development interacts with other air pollution
exposures, such as particulate matter, to contribute to lung disease in adulthood. This R21 is a
key initial step towards our long term goal of addressing this hypothesis in a subsequent larger
application. Our goal in this application is to establish the extent of ozone-induced distal lung
alteration, identify key mechanisms of ozone altered lung growth and to demonstrate the effect
of these structural changes on deposition and clearance of a model inhaled ultrafine tracer
particle. We will use unique animal, exposure and measurement methods we developed to
address existing research gaps about ozone effects on airway and alveolar remodeling. In
particular we will define target and nontarget regions of ozone induced lung remodeling and will
study the mechanisms of the ozone induced cellular changes including glutathione depletion.
We will use juvenile and adult, male and female rats exposed to ozone or filtered air (FA) in 2
Specific Aims that will: 1) Define changes in distal lung structure induced by ozone exposure
and 2) Quantify the effect of ozone induced distal lung remodeling on particle deposition and
clearance in the lung. A better understanding of the mechanisms and effects of distal lung
remodeling in response to ozone exposure during lung development and reduced lung function
in adulthood will support regulations that improve human health and will aid in designing
therapies to treat ozone-reduced lung function.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9955258
- **Project number:** 5R21ES030276-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Laura S Van Winkle
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $196,250
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9955258

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9955258, Postnatal Ozone and Altered Lung Growth (5R21ES030276-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9955258. Licensed CC0.

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