Fungal aerosol composition in moldy basements

Abstract

Experimental aerosolization studies revealed that fungal fragments including small fragments in the submicrometer size are released from fungal cultures and have been suggested to represent an important fraction of overall fungal aerosols in indoor environments. However, their prevalence indoors and outdoors remains poorly characterized. Moldy basements were investigated for airborne fungal particles including spores, submicron fragments, and larger fragments. Particles were collected onto poly‐L‐lysine‐coated polycarbonate filters and qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed using immunogold labeling combined with field emission scanning electron microscopy. We found that the total fungal aerosol levels including spores, submicrometer, and larger fragments in the moldy basements (median: 80 × 103 m−3) were not different from that estimated in control basements (63 × 103 m−3) and outdoor (90 × 103 m−3). However, mixed effect modeling of the fungal aerosol composition revealed that the fraction of fragments increased significantly in moldy basements, versus the spore fraction that increased significantly in outdoor air. These findings provide new insight on the compositional variation of mixed fungal aerosols in indoor as compared to outdoor air. Our results also suggest that further studies, aiming to investigate the role of fungal aerosols in the fungal exposure‐disease relationships, should consider the mixed composition of various types of fungal particles.

Medizinisch klinische Diagnostik bei Schimmelpilzexposition in Innenräumen – Update 2023 (AWMF-Register-Nr. 161/001)

“…Darüber hinaus ist es unwahrscheinlich, dass Portal-of-Entry-Effekte wie zytotoxische, inflammatorische Wirkungen an den Atemwegen kausal auf Mykotoxine allein zurückzuführen sind, da eine Exposition in feuchten und schimmelbelasteten Innenräumen immer auch eine komplexe Exposition gegenüber anderen irritativen, zytotoxischen und immunogenen Komponenten des Bioaerosols beinhaltet [141,[461][462][463]. Hypotheti-sche immunmodulierende Effekte von Mykotoxinen [464] bedürfen der Überprüfung.…”

Characterization and pro‐inflammatory potential of indoor mold particles

“…Since chronic inflammation is linked to various health outcomes, sustained release of pro‐inflammatory cytokines due to continuous exposure to prevalent mold species with strong pro‐inflammatory potential may be more critical to health. Furthermore, substantial higher levels of mold fragments compared to spores are often found in indoor air samples . Thus, hyphal fragments of more prevalent species with strong pro‐inflammatory potential including P chrysogenum could be pertinent candidates for respiratory diseases associated with mold exposure.…”

“…Since chronic inflammation is linked to various health outcomes, sustained release of pro-inflammatory cytokines due to continuous exposure to prevalent mold species with strong pro-inflammatory potential may be more critical to health. Furthermore, substantial higher levels of mold fragments compared to spores are often found in indoor air samples (28,60,187).…”

“…Furthermore, substantial higher levels of mold fragments compared to spores are often found in indoor air samples. 28,60,187 Thus, hyphal fragments of more prevalent species with strong pro-inflammatory potential including P chrysogenum 168,182 could be pertinent candidates for respiratory diseases associated with mold exposure.…”

Factors Contributing to Sex Differences in Mice Inhaling Aspergillus fumigatus

“…Exposure to this saprophytic fungus is ubiquitous in the environment, as it is commonly found in soil and air, and plays an important role in carbon and nitrogen recycling. Exposure to A. fumigatus is particularly concerning in intensive care units [6,7], flooded indoor environments [8][9][10], and agricultural surroundings [11][12][13]. A. fumigatus is commonly detected in grain dust and agricultural environments, and antibodies against its allergens have been detected in farmers [11,13,14].…”