Low ozone concentrations stimulate cytoskeletal organization, mitochondrial activity and nuclear transcription

Abstract

Ozone therapy is a modestly invasive procedure based on the regeneration capabilities of low ozone concentrations and used in medicine as an alternative/adjuvant treatment for different diseases. However, the cellular mechanisms accounting for the positive effects of mild ozonization are still largely unexplored. To this aim, in the present study the effects of low ozone concentrations (1 to 20 µg O3/mL O2) on structural and functional cell features have been investigated in vitro by using morphological, morphometrical, cytochemical and immunocytochemical techniques at bright field, fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy. Cells exposed to pure O2 or air served as controls. The results demonstrated that the effects of ozone administration are dependent on gas concentration, and the cytoskeletal organization, mitochondrial activity and nuclear transcription may be differently affected. This suggests that, to ensure effective and permanent metabolic cell activation, ozone treatments should take into account the cytological and cytokinetic features of the different tissues.

Low ozone concentrations promote adipogenesis in human adipose-derived adult stem cells

“…Moreover, no alteration of the cell organelles occurred in samples treated with low O 3 concentrations at any differentiation step, according to previous ultrastructural observations on other cell types. 5-8 …”

Mitochondrial fusion, fission, and mitochondrial toxicity

“…The model we describe above is based on a rather limited literature, and exceptions exist. For example, a recent investigation of the effects of ozone on mitochondrial morphology identified increased fusion at a high dose, but increased fission at a low dose (Constanzo et al 2015). Amelioration of fragmentation at the high dose was due to the activation and increased abundance of mitochondrial targeted heat-shock protein 70, a classic adaptive stress response.…”

Analysis of ERK3 intracellular localization: dynamic distribution during mitosis and apoptosis

“…Ultrathin sections were placed on Formvar-carbon coated nickel grids and processed for immunocytochemistry. 20 The anti-ERK3 antibody was used at the 1:10 dilution and revealed with a 12 nm-gold-conjugated goat anti-rabbit secondary antibody (Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories Inc., LiStarFish, Milan, Italy). To reduce chromatin contrast and selectively reveal nuclear RNP constituents, the sections were treated with the EDTA regressive method 21 and observed in a Philips Morgagni TEM equipped with a Megaview II camera.…”