Breath sulfides and pulmonary function in cystic fibrosis

Abstract

We have determined the concentrations of carbonyl sulfide (OCS), dimethylsulfide, and carbon disulfide (CS 2) in the breath of a group of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and one of healthy controls. At the detection sensitivity in these experiments, room air always contained measurable quantities of these three gases. For each subject the inhaled room concentrations were subtracted from the timecoincident concentrations in exhaled breath air. The most significant differences between the CF and control cohorts in these breath-minus-room values were found for OCS. The control group demonstrated a net uptake of 250 ؎ 20 parts-per-trillion-byvolume (pptv), whereas the CF cohort had a net uptake of 110 ؎ 60 pptv (P ‫؍‬ 0.00003). Three CF patients exhaled more OCS than they inhaled from the room. The OCS concentrations in the CF cohort were strongly correlated with pulmonary function. The dimethylsulfide concentrations in breath were greatly enhanced over ambient, but no significant difference was observed between the CF and healthy control groups. The net (breath minus room) CS 2 concentrations for individuals ranged between ؉180 and ؊100 pptv. They were slightly greater in the CF cohort (؉26 ؎ 38 pptv) vs. the control group (؊17 ؎ 15 pptv; P ‫؍‬ 0.04). Lung disease in CF is accompanied by the subsistence of chronic bacterial infections. Sulfides are known to be produced by bacteria in various systems and were therefore the special target for this investigation. Our results suggest that breath sulfide content deserves attention as a noninvasive marker of respiratory colonization.bacterial emission ͉ early detection ͉ Pseudomonas aeruginosa ͉ carbonic anhydrase ͉ mucin sulfation

Exhaled methyl nitrate as a noninvasive marker of hyperglycemia in type 1 diabetes

“…In the euglycemic group, methyl nitrate concentrations averaged 11 Ϯ 3 pptv at the beginning of the study; after euglycemia was maintained for 2 h, methyl nitrate concentrations were not significantly different (8 Ϯ 1 pptv; P ϭ 0.32). These data are consistent with our previous findings of the measurable amount of 5 pptv of methyl nitrate in the breath of healthy subjects (⌬: room, 5 Ϯ 2 pptv; breath, 10 Ϯ 2 pptv) (4,5). Conversely, in the hyperglycemic group, initial methyl nitrate concentrations were significantly greater (27 Ϯ 6 pptv) and decreased significantly after hyperglycemia was corrected (15 Ϯ 2 pptv; P ϭ 0.01).…”

“…The extreme versatility of exhaled gas analysis (combining simultaneous measurements of 100 or more exhaled gases in each breath with easy, noninvasive, and painless collection methods) therefore appears especially suitable for the definition and monitoring of the time course of evolving, complex metabolic conditions, including, among others, inflammation, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. In recent years, our laboratory has concentrated on this approach for the use of exhaled VOC analysis in pathological conditions (4,5). In this study, we describe the potential applications of VOC analysis to the monitoring of hyperglycemia in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).…”

“…Indeed, in recent years a rising number of studies centered on exhaled VOC clinical applications have been generated (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). Most studies, however, are focused on the detection of single disease markers, i.e., exhaled gas profiles constantly present in definite groups of patients, independent of their moment-by-moment metabolic changes.…”

Real-time multi-marker measurement of organic compounds in human breath: towards fingerprinting breath

“…Average values for acetone and dimethyl sulfide were comparable to that observed in healthy adults (displayed in Table 1) whilst average methanol and isoprene values in the study subjects were generally lower than that observed in the group of healthy adults (consistent with a previous study on children's breath (Taucher et al, 1997)). Previous reports have linked dimethyl sulfide and isoprene to cystic fibrosis and respiratory exacerbation (Barker et al, 2006;Kamboures et al 2005;McGrath et al, 2000). However, the present results indicate no significant difference between dimethyl sulfide and isoprene in the cystic fibrosis ( (Wang et al, 2006;Enderby et al, 2009).…”

A Winogradsky-based culture system shows an association between microbial fermentation and cystic fibrosis exacerbation

“…It is an excellent experimental tool that can reveal the behavior of CF microbes in an environment more similar to the CF lung. For example, DMDS was detected in headspace gas from WinCF capillary tubes and breath gas samples from CF patients (Kamboures et al, 2005;Barker et al, 2006). DMDS is a major by-product of methionine degradation (Segal and Starkey, 1968), and methionine is a major component of the mucin glycopeptide.…”