Association between lipid profiles and viral respiratory infections in human sputum samples

BACKGROUND: Respiratory infections such as influenza account for significant global mortality each year. Generating lipid profiles is a novel and emerging research approach that may provide new insights regarding the development and progression of priority respiratory infections. We hypothesized that select clusters of lipids in human sputum would be associated with specific viral infections (Influenza (H1N1, H3N2) or Rhinovirus). METHODS: Lipid identification and semi-quantitation was determined with liquid chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry in induced sputum from individuals with confirmed respiratory infections (influenza (H1N1, H3N2) or rhinovirus). Clusters of lipid species and associations between lipid profiles and the type of respiratory viral agent was determined using Bayesian profile regression and multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: More than 600 lipid compounds were identified across the sputum samples with the most abundant lipid classes identified as triglycerides (TG), phosphatidylethanolamines (PE), phosphatidylcholines (PC), Sphingomyelins (SM), ether-PC, and ether-PE. A total of 12 lipid species were significantly different when stratified by infection type and included acylcarnitine (AcCar) (10:1, 16:1, 18:2), diacylglycerols (DG) (16:0_18:0, 18:0_18:0), Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) (12:0, 20:5), PE (18:0_18:0), and TG (14:1_16:0_18:2, 15:0_17:0_19:0, 16:0_17:0_18:0, 19:0_19:0_19:0). Cluster analysis yielded three clusters of lipid profiles that were driven by just 10 lipid species (TGs and DGs). Cluster 1 had the highest levels of each lipid species and the highest prevalence of influenza A H3 infection (56%, n = 5) whereas cluster 3 had lower levels of each lipid species and the highest prevalence of rhinovirus (60%; n = 6). Using cluster 3 as the reference group, the crude odds of influenza A H3 infection compared to rhinovirus in cluster 1 was significantly (p = 0.047) higher (OR = 15.00 [95% CI: 1.03, 218.29]). After adjustment for confounders (smoking status and pulmonary comorbidities), the odds ratio (OR) became only marginally significant (p = 0.099), but the magnitude of the effect estimate was similar (OR = 16.00 [0.59, 433.03]). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, human sputum lipid profiles were shown to be associated with distinct types of viral infection. Better understanding the relationship between respiratory infections of global importance and lipids contributes to advancing knowledge of pathogenesis of infections including identifying populations with increased susceptibility and developing effective therapeutics and biomarkers of health status. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12931-022-02091-w.