Paediatric Respiratory Publications
2022
Higher exhaled nitric oxide at 6 weeks of age is associated with less bronchiolitis and wheeze in the first 12 months of age
Carla Rebeca Da Silva Sena, Ediane de Queiroz Andrade, Patricia de Gouveia Belinelo, Elizabeth Percival, Benjamin Prangemeier, Christopher O'Donoghue, Sandrine Terry, Tanya Burke, William Gunning, Vanessa E Murphy, Paul D Robinson, Peter D Sly, Peter G Gibson, Adam M Collison, Joerg Mattes, Thorax 2022
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2022
Exposure to 4% SF6 during multiple breath washout affects
subsequent infant tidal breathing analysis
Ediane De Queiroz Andrade, Katie J. Bayfield, Anneliese Blaxland, |Alexander Wong, Patricia De Gouveia Belinelo, Peter D. Sly, Adam Collison, Vanessa E. Murphy, Peter Gibson, Joerg Mattes, Paul D. Robinson, Pediatric Pulmonology 2022
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Why this is important
Infant lung function testing can be used to assess lung function during early life. This can be done without sedation during quiet sleep which typically lasts for about 20 minutes only. This time must be used efficiently whilst performing the range of tests available, it is therefore important that this testing is optimised.
Testing performed includes TBFVL (tidal breathing flow-volume loop) and MBW (multiple breath washout). TBFVL assesses respiratory control and pulmonary mechanical function. MBW is a tidal breathing test that measures how long it takes for the lungs to clear a gas inhaled through a mask to assess gas mixing within the lungs. SF6 (sulfur hexafluoride) is the preferred gas for MBW testing in infants, SF6 is a heavy gas which may directly affect tidal breathing parameters.
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How did we investigate this
In a small group of infants participating in the Breathing for Life Trial (BLT) TBFVL was performed both before and after MBW. The results from testing before and after MBW were compared for the same participant.
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What we found​
Statistically significant changes in TBFVL parameters performed after MBW were seen.
What this means
​The order in which tidal breathing testing is performed in relation to MBW has an impact on a range of TBFVL parameters. We would recommend that tidal breathing assessment be performed before MBW in future infant studies.
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2021
Variation of DNA Methylation in Newborns Associated with
Exhaled Carbon Monoxide during Pregnancy
Ediane De Queiroz Andrade, Gabriela Martins Costa Gomes, Adam Collison, Jane Grehan, Vanessa E. Murphy, Peter Gibson, Joerg Mattes and Wilfried Karmaus, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2021
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Why this is important
Exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy can lead to unfavourable birth outcomes for the baby such as low birth weight and subsequent health outcomes later in life.
A potential mechanism that may explain this effect on long term health is through modulation of DNA methylation.
DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism in which small chemical groups called methyl groups are added to the DNA strand without changing the sequence. This turns the gene off or silences it. Most DNA methylation occurs on CpG sites (cytosines that precede a guanine nucleotide).
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How did we investigate this
Exhaled carbon monoxide (eCO) is an indicator of cigarette smoke exposure. We examined whether self-reported smoking status during pregnancy and maternal exhaled carbon monoxide (eCO) during early pregnancy were associated with methylation of CpG sites which have previously been found to predict birth weight.
We focused on CpG sites found to be associated with smoking and, using the Isle of Wight Birth Cohort identified which of these are also associated with birth weight. We then analysed cord blood samples taken from a subgroup of BLT infants, testing associations between those CpG sites related to smoking.
Lastly we investigated pathways from smoking exposure to differing birth weights using DNA methylation as the mediator.
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What we found​
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Nine CpG sites on nine different genes were significantly associated with birth weight
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The methylation of cg02264407 on the LM07 gene was significantly linked with exhaled CO
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path analysis showed a direct and indirect effect of CO-exposure on birth weight via the CpG site cg02264407 on the LM07 gene
What this means
Smoking during pregnancy can influence epigenetic modifications in early development, this is a likely mechanism linking them to altered gene function and birth outcomes, these influences have also been reported later in childhood and adulthood.
Whilst supporting pregnant women to quit smoking during pregnancy is the best intervention, it may also be possible to reduce the negative effect on birth weight by blocking the indirect path identified in this study via vitamin C supplementation and/or dietary intervention.
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Cord blood group 2 innate lymphoid cells are associated
with lung function at 6 weeks of age
Gabriela Martins Costa Gomes, Patricia de Gouveia Belinelo, Malcolm R Starkey, Vanessa E Murphy, Philip M Hansbro, Peter D Sly, Paul D Robinson, Wilfried Karmaus,
Peter G Gibson, Joerg Mattes, Adam M Collison, Clinical & Translational Immunology 2021
2021
Environmental Air Pollutants Inhaled during Pregnancy Are
Associated with Altered Cord Blood Immune Cell Profiles
Gabriela Martins Costa Gomes, Wilfried Karmaus, Vanessa E. Murphy, Peter G. Gibson,
Elizabeth Percival, Philip M. Hansbro, Malcolm R. Starkey , Joerg Mattes and Adam M. Collison, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2021
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Maternal asthma is associated with reduced lung function in male infants in a combined analysis of the
BLT and BILD cohorts
Patricia de Gouveia Belinelo, Adam M Collison,Vanessa E Murphy,
Paul D Robinson, Kathryn Jesson, Kate Hardaker, Ediane de Queiroz Andrade,Christopher Oldmeadow,
Gabriela Martins Costa Gomes, Peter D Sly, Jakob Usemann,
Rhea Appenzeller, Olga Gorlanova, Oliver Fuchs, Philipp Latzin,
Peter G Gibson, Urs Frey, Joerg Mattes, Paediatric Lung Disease 2021
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