Analysis of cytokine pattern in exhaled breath condensate of lung transplant recipients with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome

Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) analysis is a promising method for investigating airway pathology. In this pilot study we tested the cytokine pattern of EBC of lung transplant patients with and without clinical evidence of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS). Breath condensates collected from eight BOS patients and eight stable BOS-free lung transplant recipients in three consecutive visits were pooled in order to increase protein concentration and were then used for antibody microarray analysis detecting 120 cytokines simultaneously. Nine cytokines exhibited more than twofold increase and four exhibited more than twofold decrease in BOS patients as compared to stable subjects. We conclude that inflammatory cytokines are present in EBC of lung transplant recipients, however the potential benefit of detecting the EBC proteome warrants further studies.