Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Sputum Can Be Chemically Dynamic, Anoxic, and Extremely Reduced Due to Hydrogen Sulfide Formation.

ABSTRACT:

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Severe and persistent bacterial lung infections characterize cystic fibrosis (CF). While several studies have documented the microbial diversity within CF lung mucus, we know much less about the inorganic chemistry that constrains microbial metabolic processes and their distribution. We hypothesized that sputum is chemically heterogeneous both within and between patients. To test this, we measured microprofiles of oxygen and sulfide concentrations as well as pH and oxidation-reduction potentials in 48 sputum samples from 22 pediatric patients with CF. Inorganic ions were measured in 20 samples from 12 patients. In all cases, oxygen was depleted within the first few millimeters below the sputum-air interface. Apart from this steep oxycline, anoxia dominated the sputum env

SUBMITTER: Cowley ES 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4551978 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature