OPEN ACCESS PEER-REVIEWED
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Seasonal Changes in Endotoxin Exposure and Its Relationship to Exhaled Nitric Oxide and Exhaled Breath Condensate pH Levels in Atopic and Healthy Children
Endotoxin, a component of the cell walls of gram-negative bacteria, is a contaminant in organic dusts (house dust) and aerosols. In humans, small amounts of endotoxin may cause a local inflammatory response. Exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) levels, an inflammation indicator, are associated with the pH values of exhaled breath condensate (EBC). This study evaluated seasonal changes on indoor endotoxin concentrations in homes and the relationships between endotoxin exposure and eNO/EBC pH levels for healthy children and children with allergy-related respiratory diseases. In total, 34 children with allergy-related respiratory diseases and 24 healthy children were enrolled. Indoor air quality measurements and dust sample analysis for endotoxin were conducted once each season inside 58 surveyed homes. The eNO, EBC pH levels, and pulmonary function of the children were also determined. The highest endotoxin concentrations were on kitchen floors of homes of children with allergy-related respiratory diseases and healthy children, and on bedroom floors of homes of asthmatic children and healthy children. Seasonal changes existed in endotoxin concentrations in dust samples from homes of children with allergic rhinitis, with or without asthma, and in EBC pH values among healthy children and those with allergy-related respiratory diseases. Strong relationships existed between endotoxin exposure and EBC pH values in children with allergic rhinitis.
Citation: Wan G-H, Yan D-C, Tung T-H, Tang C-S, Liu C-H (2013) Seasonal Changes in Endotoxin Exposure and Its Relationship to Exhaled Nitric Oxide and Exhaled Breath Condensate pH Levels in Atopic and Healthy Children. PLoS ONE 8(6): e66785. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0066785
Editor: Aimin Chen, University of Cincinnati, United States of America
Received: July 30, 2012; Accepted: May 13, 2013; Published: June 19, 2013
Copyright: © 2013 Wan et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: This study was supported by grants NSC95-2314-B-182-056 and NSC96-2314-B-182-017 from the National Science Council of Taiwan. Also, the authors would like to thank the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan, for financially supporting this research under grants CMRPD150091. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist
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