An anti-inflammatory drug (BW755C) inhibits airway hyperresponsiveness induced by ozone in dogs

To follow up our previous observation that airway hyperresponsiveness induced by ozone is linked to airway inflammation, we investigated the effect of BW755C, an anti-inflammatory drug, on ozone-induced hyperresponsiveness in dogs. Airway responsiveness was assessed with dose-response curves of acetylcholine aerosol versus pulmonary resistance in two sets of experiments. In one set (placebo treatment), five dogs were given only saline solution treatment and were studied before treatment or ozone exposure and then after treatment both before and after ozone (3.0 ppm, 2 hours); in another set (BW755C treatment), the same dogs were studied before BW755C treatment or ozone and then after treatment (10 mg/kg intravenously) both before and after ozone. When the dogs were given no BW755C treatment, ozone induced a marked increase in airway responsiveness to acetylcholine. When the dogs were given BW755C, responsiveness was no different during treatment than before treatment but, more importantly, responsiveness did not increase significantly after ozone. We conclude that BW755C markedly inhibits ozone-induced airway hyperresponsiveness in dogs, probably by inhibiting the formation of oxygenation products of arachidonic acid.