Analysis of volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath after radiotherapy / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

Radiotherapy uses high-energy X-rays or other particles to destroy cancer cells and medical practitioners have used this approach extensively for cancer treatment (Hachadorian et al., 2020). However, it is accompanied by risks because it seriously harms normal cells while killing cancer cells. The side effects can lower cancer patients' quality of life and are very unpredictable due to individual differences (Bentzen, 2006). Therefore, it is essential to assess a patient's body damage after radiotherapy to formulate an individualized recovery treatment plan. Exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be changed by radiotherapy and thus used for medical diagnosis (Vaks et al., 2012). During treatment, high-energy X-rays can induce apoptosis; meanwhile, cell membranes are damaged due to lipid peroxidation, converting unsaturated fatty acids into volatile metabolites (Losada-Barreiro and Bravo-Díaz, 2017). At the same time, radiotherapy oxidizes water, resulting in reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can increase the epithelial permeability of pulmonary alveoli, enabling the respiratory system to exhale volatile metabolites (Davidovich et al., 2013; Popa et al., 2020). These exhaled VOCs can be used to monitor body damage caused by radiotherapy.

Expression patterns of influenza virus receptors in the respiratory tracts of four species of poultry

The primary determinant of influenza virus infectivity is the type of linkage between sialic acid and oligosaccharides on the host cells. Hemagglutinin of avian influenza viruses preferentially binds to sialic acids linked to galactose by an alpha-2,3 linkage whereas hemagglutinin of human influenza viruses binds to sialic acids with an alpha-2,6 linkage. The distribution patterns of influenza receptors in the avian respiratory tracts are of particular interest because these are important for initial viral attachment, replication, and transmission to other species. In this study, we examined the distribution patterns of influenza receptors in the respiratory tract of chickens, ducks, pheasants, and quails because these species have been known to act as intermediate hosts in interspecies transmission. Lectin histochemistry was performed to detect receptor-bearing cells. Cell-specific distribution of the receptors was determined and expression densities were compared. We observed species-, site-, and cell-specific variations in receptor expression. In general, receptor expression was the highest in quails and lowest in ducks. Pheasants and quails had abundant expression of both types of receptors throughout the respiratory tract. These results indicate that pheasants and quails may play important roles as intermediate hosts for the generation of influenza viruses with pandemic potential.