Breathprinting Reveals Malaria-Associated Biomarkers and Mosquito Attractants. (3rd February 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schaber, Chad L; Katta, Nalin; Bollinger, Lucy B; Mwale, Mwawi; Mlotha-Mitole, Rachel; Trehan, Indi; Raman, Barani; Odom John, Audrey R
• Is Part Of: Journal of infectious diseases. Volume 217:Number 10(2018)
• Page Start: 1553
• Page End: 1560
• Publication Date: 2018-02-03
• Subjects: Malaria -- breath -- volatile organic compounds -- terpenes -- biomarkers; Communicable diseases -- Periodicals; Diseases -- Causes and theories of causation -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Communicable Diseases -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 616.9
• DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiy072
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-1899

Abstract

Abstract : Untargeted metabolomics of breath samples was performed for pediatric patients in Malawi with and those without malaria. A combination of 6 breath compounds could be used to diagnose malarial infection with 83% accuracy. Additionally, infection corresponded with higher levels of 2 mosquito-attractant terpenes. Abstract: Current evidence suggests that malarial infection could alter metabolites in the breath of patients, a phenomenon that could be exploited to create a breath-based diagnostic test. However, no study has explored this in a clinical setting. To investigate whether natural human malarial infection leads to a characteristic breath profile, we performed a field study in Malawi. Breath volatiles from children with and those without uncomplicated falciparum malaria were analyzed by thermal desorption–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Using an unbiased, correlation-based analysis, we found that children with malaria have a distinct shift in overall breath composition. Highly accurate classification of infection status was achieved with a suite of 6 compounds. In addition, we found that infection correlates with significantly higher breath levels of 2 mosquito-attractant terpenes, α-pinene and 3-carene. These findings attest to the viability of breath analysis for malaria diagnosis, identify candidate biomarkers, and identify plausible chemical mediators for increased mosquito attraction to patients infected with malaria parasites.