Editing Ozone (section)

===Physiology===
{{See also|Trioxidane}}
Ozone, along with reactive forms of oxygen such as [[superoxide]], [[singlet oxygen]], [[hydrogen peroxide]], and [[hypochlorite]] ions, is produced by [[white blood cell]]s and other biological systems (such as the roots of [[tagetes|marigolds]]) as a means of destroying foreign bodies. Ozone reacts directly with organic double bonds. Also, when ozone breaks down to dioxygen it gives rise to oxygen [[free radical]]s, which are highly reactive and capable of damaging many [[organic compound|organic molecules]]. Moreover, it is believed that the powerful oxidizing properties of ozone may be a contributing factor of [[inflammation]]. The cause-and-effect relationship of how the ozone is created in the body and what it does is still under consideration and still subject to various interpretations, since other body chemical processes can trigger some of the same reactions. There is evidence linking the antibody-catalyzed water-oxidation pathway of the human [[immune system|immune response]] to the production of ozone. In this system, ozone is produced by antibody-catalyzed production of [[trioxidane]] from water and neutrophil-produced singlet oxygen.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Story of O |last=Hoffmann |first=Roald |journal=American Scientist |volume=92 |issue=1 |page=23 |date=January 2004 |doi=10.1511/2004.1.23 |url=http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/29647?&print=yes |access-date=2006-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925011907/http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/29647?&print=yes |archive-date=2006-09-25}}</ref>

When inhaled, ozone reacts with compounds lining the lungs to form specific, cholesterol-derived metabolites that are thought to facilitate the build-up and pathogenesis of [[atherosclerotic plaques]] (a form of [[heart disease]]). These metabolites have been confirmed as naturally occurring in human atherosclerotic arteries and are categorized into a class of secosterols termed ''[[atheronals]]'', generated by [[ozonolysis]] of cholesterol's double bond to form a [[atheronals|5,6 secosterol]]<ref>{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=LL |title=Oxygen, oxysterols, ouabain, and ozone: a cautionary tale |journal=Free Radical Biology & Medicine |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=318–24 |year=2004 |pmid=15223065 |doi=10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2004.04.024}}</ref> as well as a secondary condensation product via aldolization.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Evidence for Ozone Formation in Human Atherosclerotic Arteries |author=Paul Wentworth |year=2003 |journal=Science |volume=302 |last2=Nieva |first2=J |last3=Takeuchi |first3=C |last4=Galve |first4=R |last5=Wentworth |first5=AD |last6=Dilley |first6=RB |last7=Delaria |first7=GA |last8=Saven |first8=A |last9=Babior |first9=BM |last10=Janda |first10=K. D. |last11=Eschenmoser |first11=A |last12=Lerner |first12=R. A. |issue=5647 |pages=1053–6 |display-authors=8 |bibcode=2003Sci...302.1053W |pmid=14605372 |doi=10.1126/science.1089525 |s2cid=11099904}}</ref>