Quantification of lamellar bodies in exhaled breath condensate.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Quantification of lamellar bodies in exhaled breath condensate.
IRAS ID
151969
Contact name
Gordon MacGregor
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS GGC, Research and Development, Western Infirmary, Glasgow
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
The hypothesis of the study is that there is either a quantitative or qualitative difference between lamellar bodies in the exhaled breath condensate (EBC) of patients with respiratory disease compared with healthy controls.
This study aims to compare EBC samples from 20 healthy controls, and 50 with respiratory disease, including cystic fibrosis. Participants will be given an information sheet, then at least 24 hours to consider this before being asked for informed consent.
Participants will attend Gartnavel General Hospital. The collection involves breathing normally into a mouthpiece for 10-15 minutes. The whole visit should take around 30 minutes. The sample is collected and transferred to Glasgow University for processing and analysis. Analysis will involve electron microscopy, FACS and ELISA for measurement of inflammatory markers.
Healthy volunteers will provide one sample each. For patients with respiratory disease, more than one sample may be taken: a sample in the stable state, then further samples if the patient has an exacerbation of their respiratory disease, at the start, middle and end of exacerbations. This is to assess for any changes in levels of lamellar bodies detectable in breath during the course of an exacerbation.
Lamellar bodies are microparticles present in cells of the lungs. They may have a role in regulating inflammation and infection. If this is the case, this difference may contribute to the pathogenesis of respiratory diseases.
EBC contains aerosolised airway lining fluid. It reflects the physiological environment of the lung and alters with changes in disease. It is non-invasive and can be collected easily, therefore has potential for monitoring disease. Pilot work suggests that lamellar bodies are detectable in EBC. As there may be a quantitative difference in lamellar bodies between the airways of cystic fibrosis patients and healthy controls, analysis of EBC may provide a method of examining this.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/SC/1451
Date of REC Opinion
19 Dec 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion