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Cen Z, Lu B, Ji Y, Chen J, Liu Y, Jiang J, Li X, Li X. Virus-induced breath biomarkers: A new perspective to study the metabolic responses of COVID-19 vaccinees. Talanta 2023; 260:124577. [PMID: 37116359 PMCID: PMC10122548 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.124577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2023]
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines can protect people from the infection; however, the action mechanism of vaccine-mediated metabolism remains unclear. Herein, we performed breath tests in COVID-19 vaccinees that revealed metabolic reprogramming induced by protective immune responses. In total, 204 breath samples were obtained from COVID-19 vaccinees and non-vaccinated controls, wherein numerous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were detected by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography and time-of-flight mass spectrometry system. Subsequently, 12 VOCs were selected as biomarkers to construct a signature panel using alveolar gradients and machine learning-based procedure. The signature panel could distinguish vaccinees from control group with a high prediction performance (AUC, 0.9953; accuracy, 94.42%). The metabolic pathways of these biomarkers indicated that the host-pathogen interactions enhanced enzymatic activity and microbial metabolism in the liver, lung, and gut, potentially constituting the dominant action mechanism of vaccine-driven metabolic regulation. Thus, our findings of this study highlight the potential of measuring exhaled VOCs as rapid, non-invasive biomarkers of viral infections. Furthermore, breathomics appears as an alternative for safety evaluation of biological agents and disease diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengnan Cen
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, PR China
| | - Bingqing Lu
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, PR China
| | - Yongyan Ji
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, PR China
| | - Jian Chen
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, PR China
| | - Yongqian Liu
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, PR China
| | - Jiakui Jiang
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, PR China
| | - Xue Li
- Institute of Mass Spectrometry and Atmospheric Environment, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, PR China
| | - Xiang Li
- Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, PR China.
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2
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Mochalski P, King J, Mayhew CA, Unterkofler K. Modelling of Breath and Various Blood Volatilomic Profiles—Implications for Breath Volatile Analysis. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27082381. [PMID: 35458579 PMCID: PMC9028376 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27082381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Researchers looking for biomarkers from different sources, such as breath, urine, or blood, frequently search for specific patterns of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), often using pattern recognition or machine learning techniques. However, they are not generally aware that these patterns change depending on the source they use. Therefore, we have created a simple model to demonstrate that the distribution patterns of VOCs in fat, mixed venous blood, alveolar air, and end-tidal breath are different. Our approach follows well-established models for the description of dynamic real-time breath concentration profiles. We start with a uniform distribution of end-tidal concentrations of selected VOCs and calculate the corresponding target concentrations. For this, we only need partition coefficients, mass balance, and the assumption of an equilibrium state, which avoids the need to know the volatiles’ metabolic rates and production rates within the different compartments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paweł Mochalski
- Institute for Breath Research, Leopold-Franzens-Universität, Innrain 66, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria; (P.M.); (J.K.); (C.A.M.)
- Institute of Chemistry, Jan Kochanowski University, 25-369 Kielce, Poland
| | - Julian King
- Institute for Breath Research, Leopold-Franzens-Universität, Innrain 66, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria; (P.M.); (J.K.); (C.A.M.)
| | - Chris A. Mayhew
- Institute for Breath Research, Leopold-Franzens-Universität, Innrain 66, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria; (P.M.); (J.K.); (C.A.M.)
- Tiroler Krebsforschungsinstitut (TKFI), Innrain 66, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Karl Unterkofler
- Institute for Breath Research, Leopold-Franzens-Universität, Innrain 66, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria; (P.M.); (J.K.); (C.A.M.)
- Research Center BI, University of Applied Sciences Vorarlberg, Hochschulstraße 1, A-6850 Dornbirn, Austria
- Correspondence:
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Pauwels CGGM, Hintzen KFH, Talhout R, Cremers HWJM, Pennings JLA, Smolinska A, Opperhuizen A, Van Schooten FJ, Boots AW. Smoking regular and low-nicotine cigarettes results in comparable levels of volatile organic compounds in blood and exhaled breath. J Breath Res 2020; 15:016010. [PMID: 33027777 DOI: 10.1088/1752-7163/abbf38] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Smokers are exposed to more than 6000 (toxic) smoke components including volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this study VOCs levels in headspace of blood and exhaled breath, in the mainstream smoke of three types of cigarettes of one brand varying in declared tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide (TNCO) yields are investigated. The objective was to identify whether VOC levels correlate with TNCO yields of cigarettes smoked according to ISO 3308. Our data show that smoking regular and low-TNCO cigarettes result in comparable levels of VOCs in blood and exhaled breath. Hence, declared TNCO-yields as determined with the ISO 3308 machine smoking protocol are irrelevant for predicting VOC exposure upon human smoking. Venous blood and exhaled breath were sampled from 12 male volunteers directly before and 10 min after smoking cigarettes on 3 d (day 1 Marlboro Red (regular), day 2 Marlboro Prime (highly ventilated, low-TNCO), day 3 Marlboro Prime with blocked filter ventilation (taped)). Upon smoking, the levels of toluene, ethylbenzene, m/p-xylene, o-xylene, and 2,5-dimethylfuran in both headspace of venous blood and exhaled breath increase within the same range for all three cigarette types smoked. However, no strong correlation was found between VOC levels in exhaled breath and VOC levels in headspace of blood because of variations between the individual smoking volunteers. More research is required in order to use exhaled breath sampling as a non-invasive quantitative marker for volatile toxicants from cigarette smoke exposure of different brands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte G G M Pauwels
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Centre for Health Protection, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Kim F H Hintzen
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Reinskje Talhout
- Centre for Health Protection, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Hans W J M Cremers
- Centre for Health Protection, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Jeroen L A Pennings
- Centre for Health Protection, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Agnieszka Smolinska
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Antoon Opperhuizen
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Office of Risk Assessment and Research, Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Frederik J Van Schooten
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Agnes W Boots
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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Fuchs P, Trautner M, Saß R, Kamysek S, Miekisch W, Bier A, Stoll P, Schubert JK. Spatial mapping of VOC exhalation by means of bronchoscopic sampling. J Breath Res 2020; 14:046012. [PMID: 33021213 DOI: 10.1088/1752-7163/abb478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Breath analysis holds promise for non-invasive in vivo monitoring of disease related processes. However, physiological parameters may considerably affect profiles of exhaled volatile organic substances (VOCs). Volatile substances can be released via alveoli, bronchial mucosa or from the upper airways. The aim of this study was the systematic investigation of the influence of different sampling sites in the respiratory tract on VOC concentration profiles by means of a novel experimental setup. After ethical approval, breath samples were collected from 25 patients undergoing bronchoscopy for endobronchial ultrasound or bronchoscopic lung volume reduction from different sites in the airways. All patients had total intravenous anaesthesia under pressure-controlled ventilation. If necessary, respiratory parameters were adjusted to keep PETCO2 = 35-45 mm Hg. 30 ml gas were withdrawn at six sampling sites by means of gastight glass syringes: S1 = Room air, S2 = Inspiration, S3 = Endotracheal tube, S4 = Trachea, S5 = Right B6 segment, S6 = Left B6 segment (S4-S6 through the bronchoscope channel). 10 ml were used for VOC analysis, 20 ml for PCO2 determination. Samples were preconcentrated by solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). PCO2 was determined in a conventional blood gas analyser. Statistically significant differences in substance concentrations for acetone, isoprene, 2-methyl-pentane and n-hexane could be observed between different sampling sites. Increasing substance concentrations were determined for acetone (15.3%), 2-methyl-pentane (11.4%) and n-hexane (19.3%) when passing from distal to proximal sampling sites. In contrast, isoprene concentrations decreased by 9.9% from proximal to more distal sampling sites. Blank bronchoscope measurements did not show any contaminations. Increased substance concentrations in the proximal respiratory tract may be explained through substance excretion from bronchial mucosa while decreased concentrations could result from absorption or reaction processes. Spatial mapping of VOC profiles can provide novel insights into substance specific exhalation kinetics and mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Fuchs
- Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Rostock University Medical Centre, ROMBAT, Germany
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Koureas M, Kirgou P, Amoutzias G, Hadjichristodoulou C, Gourgoulianis K, Tsakalof A. Target Analysis of Volatile Organic Compounds in Exhaled Breath for Lung Cancer Discrimination from Other Pulmonary Diseases and Healthy Persons. Metabolites 2020; 10:metabo10080317. [PMID: 32756521 PMCID: PMC7464039 DOI: 10.3390/metabo10080317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Revised: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to investigate the ability of breath analysis to distinguish lung cancer (LC) patients from patients with other respiratory diseases and healthy people. The population sample consisted of 51 patients with confirmed LC, 38 patients with pathological computed tomography (CT) findings not diagnosed with LC, and 53 healthy controls. The concentrations of 19 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were quantified in the exhaled breath of study participants by solid phase microextraction (SPME) of the VOCs and subsequent gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used to identify significant differences between subgroups. Machine learning methods were used to determine the discriminant power of the method. Several compounds were found to differ significantly between LC patients and healthy controls. Strong associations were identified for 2-propanol, 1-propanol, toluene, ethylbenzene, and styrene (p-values < 0.001-0.006). These associations remained significant when ambient air concentrations were subtracted from breath concentrations. VOC levels were found to be affected by ambient air concentrations and a few by smoking status. The random forest machine learning algorithm achieved a correct classification of patients of 88.5% (area under the curve-AUC 0.94). However, none of the methods used achieved adequate discrimination between LC patients and patients with abnormal computed tomography (CT) findings. Biomarker sets, consisting mainly of the exogenous monoaromatic compounds and 1- and 2- propanol, adequately discriminated LC patients from healthy controls. The breath concentrations of these compounds may reflect the alterations in patient's physiological and biochemical status and perhaps can be used as probes for the investigation of these statuses or normalization of patient-related factors in breath analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michalis Koureas
- Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University Hospital of Larissa, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 22 Papakyriazi Street, 41222 Larissa, Greece; (M.K.); (C.H.)
| | - Paraskevi Kirgou
- Respiratory Medicine Department, University Hospital of Larissa, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 41500 Larissa, Greece; (P.K.); (K.G.)
| | - Grigoris Amoutzias
- Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, 41500 Larissa, Greece;
| | - Christos Hadjichristodoulou
- Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University Hospital of Larissa, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 22 Papakyriazi Street, 41222 Larissa, Greece; (M.K.); (C.H.)
| | - Konstantinos Gourgoulianis
- Respiratory Medicine Department, University Hospital of Larissa, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 41500 Larissa, Greece; (P.K.); (K.G.)
| | - Andreas Tsakalof
- Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University Hospital of Larissa, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 22 Papakyriazi Street, 41222 Larissa, Greece; (M.K.); (C.H.)
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 41500 Larissa, Greece
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +30-2410685580
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Ager C, Mochalski P, King J, Mayhew CA, Unterkofler K. Effect of inhaled acetone concentrations on exhaled breath acetone concentrations at rest and during exercise. J Breath Res 2020; 14:026010. [PMID: 31829984 DOI: 10.1088/1752-7163/ab613a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Real-time measurements of the differences in inhaled and exhaled, unlabeled and fully deuterated acetone concentration levels, at rest and during exercise, have been conducted using proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry. A novel approach to continuously differentiate between the inhaled and exhaled breath acetone concentration signals is used. This leads to unprecedented fine grained data of inhaled and exhaled concentrations. The experimental results obtained are compared with those predicted using a simple three compartment model that theoretically describes the influence of inhaled concentrations on exhaled breath concentrations for volatile organic compounds with high blood:air partition coefficients, and hence is appropriate for acetone. An agreement between the predicted and observed concentrations is obtained. Our results highlight that the influence of the upper airways cannot be neglected for volatiles with high blood:air partition coefficients, i.e. highly water soluble volatiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clemens Ager
- Institute for Breath Research, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Rathausplatz 4, A-6850 Dornbirn, Austria. Univ.-Clinic for Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Innsbruck Medical University, Anichstr. 35, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
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He J, Sun X, Yang X. Human respiratory system as sink for volatile organic compounds: Evidence from field measurements. INDOOR AIR 2019; 29:968-978. [PMID: 31466121 DOI: 10.1111/ina.12602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Revised: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 08/25/2019] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Human exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) via inhalation might increase the risk of specific diseases. Human breath has been widely investigated as a source of VOCs. However, the role of the human respiratory system as a sink for VOCs is much less studied. In this observational study, the VOC concentrations in inhaled and exhaled air in different environmental conditions were investigated. A total of 98 healthy non-smoking subjects who were exposed to a wide variation in levels of VOCs participated in this study. Individual and statistical results show that human breath could serve as a source for some VOCs and a sink for others, and even when human breath serves as a sink, not all VOCs were 100% absorbed. Interestingly, an increase in inhaled concentrations of toluene was observed to convert human breath from being a source to being a sink. Attention could be given to those VOCs for which humans act as a strong sink.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junzhou He
- Department of Building Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiao Sun
- Department of Building Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Xudong Yang
- Department of Building Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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Filipiak W, Bojko B. SPME in clinical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnological research – How far are we from daily practice? Trends Analyt Chem 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2019.02.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
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