According to a recent article published by Scientific Reports, when it comes to biomedical research, non-human primates are frequently used because their anatomy and physiology is very similar to humans. They also have similar responses to diseases and therapeutics. Because non-human primates are living beings, research with them is highly restricted and regulated. When deemed necessary, minimally invasive procedures are preferred. Most research is done using blood, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, or PET-CT scans. However, breath collection is less invasive than any of these methods, and only requires intubation under light sedation for three to five minutes, while subjects breathe freely. Utilizing this approach could significantly reduce trauma for research animals.
This non-invasive, free breathing method was used as part of a pilot study to establish a core breath profile for healthy, non-human primates. Primate breath profiles have been observed before as a way to identify diseased primates from healthy ones. However, it appears that prior to this study, a baseline breath profile for healthy primates had yet to be established.
“Apart from exogenous compounds, exhaled breath includes molecules created from normal metabolism, microbiomes, and disease-specific processes. There are published breathprints for infectious diseases, cancers, and metabolic disorders in humans, so it stands to reason that the breath of NHPs (non-human primates) can also be used to monitor their health” (Bobak et al., 2024).
The hope is that the results of such research will aid in other studies, especially human research, that involves disease, therapies, and vaccines.
This study, funded by grants from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Burroughs-Wellcome Fund, and the National Institutes of Health, was completed using a LECO GCxGC-TOFMS instrument. The instrument was able to chromatographically separate and analyze the breath samples of 30 healthy macaques (plus 19 additional samples used as a validation set), and the resulting data was then processed and aligned using the Statistical Compare feature of our ChromaTOF® software. With the help of our advanced instrumentation, the scientists were able to characterize a core breath profile consisting of 23 highly abundant and invariant molecules.
LECO is proud that our high-quality instrumentation allowed these scientists the ability to perform important research that has the potential to impact both animal and human health. To find more details on this study, read the article published by Scientific Reports.
Check out our website for more information on our mass spectrometers or reach out to us with a specific question. You can also see what other industries LECO is involved with by reading our blog!
References
Bobak, C. A., Stevenson, K. A. J. M., Sun, N., et al. (2024). Defining a core breath profile for healthy, non-human primates. Scientific Reports, 14, 17031. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-64910-y
