Morphologic alteration of the olfactory bulb after acute ozone exposure in rats

The interaction of ozone with some molecules results in an increased production of free radicals. The objective of this study was to identify whether acute ozone exposure to 1-1.5 ppm for 4 h, produced cytological and ultrastructural modifications in the olfactory bulb cells. The results showed that in rats exposed to ozone there was a significant loss of dendritic spines on primary and secondary dendrites of granule cells, whereas the control rats did not present such changes, Besides these exposed cells showed vacuolation of neuronal cytoplasm, swelling of Golgi apparatus and mitochondrion, dilation cisterns of the rough endoplasmic reticulum. These findings suggest that oxidative stress produced by ozone induces alterations in the granule layer of the olfactory bulb, which may be related to functional modifications. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.