Low Ozone Concentrations Affect the Structural and Functional Features of Jurkat T Cells

Abstract

Autohemotherapy is the most used method to administer O2-O3 systemically. It consists in exposing a limited amount of blood to a gaseous O2-O3 and reinfusing it, thus activating a cascade of biochemical pathways involving plasma and blood cells that gives rise to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory responses. The therapeutic effects strictly depend on the O3 dose; it is therefore necessary to understand the relationship between the O3 concentration and the effects on blood cells involved in antioxidant and immune response. Here we performed a basic study on the effects of the low O3 concentrations used for autohemotherapy on the structural and functional features of the human T-lymphocyte-derived Jurkat cells. Ultrastructural, biomolecular, and bioanalytic techniques were used. Our findings showed that 10, 20, and 30 µg O3 concentrations were able to trigger Nrf2-induced antioxidant response and increase IL-2 secretion. However, viability and proliferation tests as well as ultrastructural observations revealed stress signs after treatment with 20 and 30 µg O3, thus designating 10 µg O3 as the optimal concentration in combining cell safety and efficient antioxidant and immune response in our in vitro system. These data offer novel evidence of the fine regulatory role played by the oxidative stress level in the hormetic response of T lymphocytes to O2-O3 administration.