Mediators of Inflammation
Volume 2006 (2006), Article ID 18061, 5 pages
doi:10.1155/MI/2006/18061
Short Communication
Detection of Erythropoietin in Exhaled Breath Condensate of Nonhypoxic Subjects Using a Multiplex Bead Array
1Department of Internal Medicine II, Section of Pulmonary Medicine, University of Ulm, Robert-Koch-Straβe 8 89081, Ulm, Germany
2Infection and Immunity Group, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
3Research Society of Lung and Chest Diseases Ltd, Berlin 13125, Germany
4Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Inselspital, University of Bern, Bern 3010, Switzerland
Received 27 April 2006; Revised 23 August 2006; Accepted 23 August 2006
Abstract
As a noninvasive method, exhaled breath condensate (EBC) has gained importance to improve monitoring of lung diseases and to detect biomarkers. The aim of the study was to investigate, whether erythropoietin (EPO) is detectable in EBC. EBC was collected from 22 consecutive patients as well as from healthy individuals. Using a multiplex fluorescent bead
immunoassay, we detected EPO in EBC, as well as tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in 13 out of 22 patients simultaneously (EPO 0.21 ± 0.03 in U/mL and TNF-α 34.6 ± 4.2 in pg/mL, mean ± SEM). No significant differences for EPO levels or correlation between EPO and
TNF-α were found but TNF-α was significantly higher in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than in non-COPD (obstructive sleep apnoea, OSA, and lung healthy patients). This is the first report of detection of EPO in EBC. Due to the small study size more data is needed to clarify the role of EPO in EBC.