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Capuano R, Ciotti M, Catini A, Bernardini S, Di Natale C. Clinical applications of volatilomic assays. Crit Rev Clin Lab Sci 2024:1-20. [PMID: 39129534 DOI: 10.1080/10408363.2024.2387038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/13/2024]
Abstract
The study of metabolomics is revealing immense potential for diagnosis, therapy monitoring, and understanding of pathogenesis processes. Volatilomics is a subcategory of metabolomics interested in the detection of molecules that are small enough to be released in the gas phase. Volatile compounds produced by cellular processes are released into the blood and lymph, and can reach the external environment through different pathways, such as the blood-air interface in the lung that are detected in breath, or the blood-water interface in the kidney that leads to volatile compounds detected in urine. Besides breath and urine, additional sources of volatile compounds such as saliva, blood, feces, and skin are available. Volatilomics traces its roots back over fifty years to the pioneering investigations in the 1970s. Despite extensive research, the field remains in its infancy, hindered by a lack of standardization despite ample experimental evidence. The proliferation of analytical instrumentations, sample preparations and methods of volatilome sampling still make it difficult to compare results from different studies and to establish a common standard approach to volatilomics. This review aims to provide an overview of volatilomics' diagnostic potential, focusing on two key technical aspects: sampling and analysis. Sampling poses a challenge due to the susceptibility of human samples to contamination and confounding factors from various sources like the environment and lifestyle. The discussion then delves into targeted and untargeted approaches in volatilomics. Some case studies are presented to exemplify the results obtained so far. Finally, the review concludes with a discussion on the necessary steps to fully integrate volatilomics into clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosamaria Capuano
- Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy
- Interdepartmental Center for Volatilomics, "A. D'Amico", University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Ciotti
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Alexandro Catini
- Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy
- Interdepartmental Center for Volatilomics, "A. D'Amico", University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Sergio Bernardini
- Interdepartmental Center for Volatilomics, "A. D'Amico", University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Corrado Di Natale
- Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy
- Interdepartmental Center for Volatilomics, "A. D'Amico", University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
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Araujo S, Mabille D, Garcia AB, Caljon G. A breath of fresh air: impact of insect-borne protozoan parasites on the respiratory system. Trends Parasitol 2024; 40:717-730. [PMID: 39013660 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2024.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2024] [Revised: 06/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024]
Abstract
The protozoan parasites Plasmodium, Leishmania, and Trypanosoma are transmitted by hematophagous insects and cause severe diseases in humans. These infections pose a global threat, particularly in low-resource settings, and are increasingly extending beyond the current endemic regions. Tropism of parasites is crucial for their development, and recent studies have revealed colonization of noncanonical tissues, aiding their survival and immune evasion. Despite receiving limited attention, cumulative evidence discloses the respiratory system as a significant interface for host-pathogen interactions, influencing the course of (co)infection and disease onset. Due to its pathophysiological and clinical implications, we emphasize that further research is needed to better understand the involvement of the respiratory system and its potential to improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and interruption of the chain of transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Araujo
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), Infla-Med Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Dorien Mabille
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), Infla-Med Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Alvaro Baeza Garcia
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), Infla-Med Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Guy Caljon
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH), Infla-Med Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.
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Berna AZ, Wang XR, Bollinger LB, Banda J, Mawindo P, Evanoff T, Culbertson DL, Seydel K, Odom John AR. Breath biomarkers of pediatric malaria: reproducibility and response to antimalarial therapy. J Infect Dis 2024:jiae323. [PMID: 38885291 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiae323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 06/02/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many insect-borne pathogens appear to manipulate the odors of their hosts in ways that influence vector behaviors. In our prior work, we identified characteristic changes in volatile emissions of cultured Plasmodium falciparum parasites in vitro and during natural human falciparum malaria. In the current study, we prospectively evaluate the reproducibility of these findings in an independent cohort of children in Blantyre, Malawi. METHODS We enrolled febrile children under evaluation for malaria and collected breath from children with and without malaria, as well as healthy controls. Using gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry, we characterized breath volatiles associated with malaria. By repeated sampling of children with malaria before and after antimalarial use, we determined how breath profiles respond to treatment. In addition, we investigated the stage-specificity of biomarkers through correlation with asexual and sexual stage parasitemia. RESULTS Our data provide robust evidence that P. falciparum infection leads to specific, reproducible changes in breath compounds. While no individual compound served as adequate classifier in isolation, selected volatiles together yielded high sensitivity for diagnosis of malaria. Overall, the results of our predictive models suggest the presence of volatile signatures that reproducibly predict malaria infection status and determine response to therapy, even in cases of low parasitemia.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Z Berna
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - X R Wang
- Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia
| | - L B Bollinger
- Department of Pediatrics, Northwest Permanente, Portland, OR97227, USA
| | - J Banda
- Blantyre Malaria Project, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi
| | - P Mawindo
- Blantyre Malaria Project, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi
| | - T Evanoff
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - K Seydel
- Blantyre Malaria Project, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi
- Department of Osteopathic Medical Specialties, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - A R Odom John
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Moura PC, Raposo M, Vassilenko V. Breath biomarkers in Non-Carcinogenic diseases. Clin Chim Acta 2024; 552:117692. [PMID: 38065379 DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2023.117692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 12/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
The analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from human matrices like breath, perspiration, and urine has received increasing attention from academic and medical researchers worldwide. These biological-borne VOCs molecules have characteristics that can be directly related to physiologic and pathophysiologic metabolic processes. In this work, gathers a total of 292 analytes that have been identified as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of various non-carcinogenic diseases. Herein we review the advances in VOCs with a focus on breath biomarkers and their potential role as minimally invasive tools to improve diagnosis prognosis and therapeutic monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Catalão Moura
- Laboratory for Instrumentation, Biomedical Engineering and Radiation Physics (LIBPhys-UNL), Department of Physics, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, Campus FCT-UNL, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal.
| | - Maria Raposo
- Laboratory for Instrumentation, Biomedical Engineering and Radiation Physics (LIBPhys-UNL), Department of Physics, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, Campus FCT-UNL, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal.
| | - Valentina Vassilenko
- Laboratory for Instrumentation, Biomedical Engineering and Radiation Physics (LIBPhys-UNL), Department of Physics, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, Campus FCT-UNL, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal.
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Stead Z, Capuano R, Di Natale C, Pain A. The volatilome signatures of Plasmodium falciparum parasites during the intraerythrocytic development cycle in vitro under exposure to artemisinin drug. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20167. [PMID: 37978324 PMCID: PMC10656521 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46416-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) comprise a diverse range of metabolites with high vapour pressure and low boiling points. Although they have received attention, they are a largely unexplored part of the metabolome. Previous studies have shown that malaria infections produce characteristic, definitive, and detectable volatile signatures. Many transcriptional and metabolic differences are observed at different stages of the parasite Intraerythrocytic Developmental Cycle (IDC) as well as when artemisinin-resistant parasites are put under drug pressure. This prompted our research to characterize whether these responses are reflected at a volatile level in malaria during the IDC stages using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We investigated whether the resistant P. falciparum parasites would produce their own characteristic volatilome profile compared to near-isogenic wild-type parasite in vitro; firstly at three different stages of the IDC and secondly in the presence or absence of artemisinin drug treatment. Finally, we explored the VOC profiles from two media environments (Human serum and Albumax) of recently lab-adapted field parasite isolates, from Southeast Asia and West/East Africa, compared to long-term lab-adapted parasites. Recognizable differences were observed between IDC stages, with schizonts having the largest difference between wild type and resistant parasites, and with cyclohexanol and 2,5,5-trimethylheptane only present for resistant schizonts. Artemisinin treatment had little effect on the resistant parasite VOC profile, whilst for the wild type parasites compounds ethylbenzene and nonanal were greatly affected. Lastly, differing culturing conditions had an observable impact on parasite VOC profile and clustering patterns of parasites were specific to geographic origin. The results presented here provide the foundation for future studies on VOC based characterization of P. falciparum strains differing in abilities to tolerate artemisinin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zenaida Stead
- Bioscience Program, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) Division, KAUST, 239556900, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rosamaria Capuano
- Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via del Politecnico 1, 00133, Roma, Italy
- Interdepartmental Centre for Volatilomics "A. D'Amico", University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via del Politecnico 1, 00133, Roma, Italy
| | - Corrado Di Natale
- Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via del Politecnico 1, 00133, Roma, Italy.
- Interdepartmental Centre for Volatilomics "A. D'Amico", University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via del Politecnico 1, 00133, Roma, Italy.
| | - Arnab Pain
- Bioscience Program, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) Division, KAUST, 239556900, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
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Géhin C, Tokarska J, Fowler SJ, Barran PE, Trivedi DK. No skin off your back: the sampling and extraction of sebum for metabolomics. Metabolomics 2023; 19:21. [PMID: 36964290 PMCID: PMC10038389 DOI: 10.1007/s11306-023-01982-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/19/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Sebum-based metabolomics (a subset of "sebomics") is a developing field that involves the sampling, identification, and quantification of metabolites found in human sebum. Sebum is a lipid-rich oily substance secreted by the sebaceous glands onto the skin surface for skin homeostasis, lubrication, thermoregulation, and environmental protection. Interest in sebomics has grown over the last decade due to its potential for rapid analysis following non-invasive sampling for a range of clinical and environmental applications. OBJECTIVES To provide an overview of various sebum sampling techniques with their associated challenges. To evaluate applications of sebum for clinical research, drug monitoring, and human biomonitoring. To provide a commentary of the opportunities of using sebum as a diagnostic biofluid in the future. METHODS Bibliometric analyses of selected keywords regarding skin surface analysis using the Scopus search engine from 1960 to 2022 was performed on 12th January 2023. The published literature was compartmentalised based on what the work contributed to in the following areas: the understanding about sebum, its composition, the analytical technologies used, or the purpose of use of sebum. The findings were summarised in this review. RESULTS Historically, about 15 methods of sampling have been used for sebum collection. The sample preparation approaches vary depending on the analytes of interest and are summarised. The use of sebum is not limited to just skin diseases or drug monitoring but also demonstrated for other systemic disease. Most of the work carried out for untargeted analysis of metabolites associated with sebum has been in the recent two decades. CONCLUSION Sebum has a huge potential beyond skin research and understanding how one's physiological state affects or reflects on the skin metabolome via the sebaceous glands itself or by interactions with sebaceous secretion, will open doors for simpler biomonitoring. Sebum acts as a sink to environmental metabolites and has applications awaiting to be explored, such as biosecurity, cross-border migration, localised exposure to harmful substances, and high-throughput population screening. These applications will be possible with rapid advances in volatile headspace and lipidomics method development as well as the ability of the metabolomics community to annotate unknown species better. A key issue with skin surface analysis that remains unsolved is attributing the source of the metabolites found on the skin surface before meaningful biological interpretation.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Géhin
- School of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - J Tokarska
- School of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - S J Fowler
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre, Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
| | - P E Barran
- School of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - D K Trivedi
- School of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK.
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Rankin-Turner S, McMeniman CJ. A headspace collection chamber for whole body volatilomics. Analyst 2022; 147:5210-5222. [DOI: 10.1039/d2an01227h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The human body secretes a complex blend of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) via the skin, breath and bodily fluids. In this study, we have developed a headspace collection chamber for whole body volatilome profiling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Rankin-Turner
- W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Conor J. McMeniman
- W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
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The Potential Use of Volatile Biomarkers for Malaria Diagnosis. Diagnostics (Basel) 2021; 11:diagnostics11122244. [PMID: 34943481 PMCID: PMC8700171 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics11122244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2021] [Revised: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathogens may change the odor and odor-related biting behavior of the vector and host to enhance pathogen transmission. In recent years, volatile biomarker investigations have emerged to identify odors that are differentially and specifically released by pathogens and plants, or the pathogen-infected or even cancer patients. Several studies have reported odors or volatile biomarkers specifically detected from the breath and skin of malaria-infected individuals. This review will discuss the potential use of these odors or volatile biomarkers for the diagnosis of malaria. This approach not only allows for the non-invasive mean of sample collection but also opens up the opportunity to develop a biosensor for malaria diagnosis in low-resource settings.
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