Production of proinflammatory mediators by indoor air bacteria and fungal spores in mouse and human cell lines.

Abstract

We compared the inflammatory and cytotoxic responses caused by household mold and bacteria in human and mouse cell lines. We studied the fungi Aspergillus versicolor, Penicillium spinulosum, and Stachybotrys chartarum and the bacteria Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Streptomyces californicus for their cytotoxicity and ability to stimulate the production of inflammatory mediators in mouse RAW264.7 and human 28SC macrophage cell lines and in the human A549 lung epithelial cell line in 24-hr exposure to 10(5), 10(6), and 10(7) microbes/mL. We studied time dependency by terminating the exposure to 10(6) microbes/mL after 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 hr. We analyzed production of the cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukins 6 and 1ss (TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-1ss, respectively) and measured nitric oxide production using the Griess method, expression of inducible NO-synthase with Western Blot analysis, and cytotoxicity with the MTT-test. All bacteria strongly induced the production of TNF-alpha, IL-6 and, to a lesser extent, the formation of IL-1ss in mouse macrophages. Only the spores of Str. californicus induced the production of NO and IL-6 in both human and mouse cells. In contrast, exposure to fungal strains did not markedly increase the production of NO or any cytokine in the studied cell lines except for Sta. chartarum, which increased IL-6 production somewhat in human lung epithelial cells. These microbes were less cytotoxic to human cells than to mouse cells. On the basis of equivalent numbers of bacteria and spores of fungi added to cell cultures, the overall potency to stimulate the production of proinflammatory mediators decreased in the order Ps. fluorescens > Str. californicus > B. cereus > Sta. chartarum > A. versicolor > P. spinulosum. These data suggest that bacteria in water-damaged buildings should also be considered as causative agents of adverse inflammatory effects.

The bacterial composition of ventilation filter dust in Norwegian pre-school nurseries

“…are strongly associated with moisture damage. Streptomyces have, furthermore, been found to stimulate the production of pro-inflammatory mediators even more strongly than many problem fungi 43 , and this is of potential relevance in the development of immunological disorders.…”

Synergistic interaction in simultaneous exposure to Streptomyces californicus and Stachybotrys chartarum.

“…fluorescens (N78), and Str. californicus (A4) were all isolated and identified in previous studies (Huttunen et al , 2003. The fungal strains were cultured on 2% malt extract agar and bacterial strains on tryptone yeast glucose agar as a dense culture and incubated in the dark at 25°C for 7 days and 20°C for 5 days, respectively.…”

“…Our earlier studies comparing the effects of fungal and bacterial exposure in vitro indicated that the importance of exposure to bacteria, especially gram-positive actinomycetes, might have been underestimated (Huttunen et al 2003). Because the numbers of bacteria in indoor air are frequently higher than the number of fungi, exposures to bacteria and their interactions with fungi are of great importance (Flannigan et al 1991).…”

“…Their occurrence is considered to be indicative of moisture damage; several studies have consistently found actinomycetes in moldy house samples (Hyvärinen et al 2002;Nevalainen et al 1991), and very active metabolites have been isolated from actinomycetes-rich samples (Andersson et al 1998). Furthermore, the inflammatory potential of these gram-positive sporulating bacteria has been studied in cell culture studies and in a mouse model, both studies revealing its high potential for inducing inflammatory effects (Huttunen et al 2003; Environmental Health Perspectives • VOLUME 112 | NUMBER 6 | May 2004 Jussila et al 1999Jussila et al , 2001). The frequent occurrence of actinomycetes in moisture-damaged materials means that they often share their habitat with other microbial species, especially fungal genera such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Stachybotrys (Hyvärinen et al 2002).…”

Análisis De La Micobiota Existente en El Ambiente Interior De La Mapoteca Del Archivo Nacional De La República De Cuba

“…Otras propiedades importantes de los hongos están relacionadas con sus potencialidades patogénicas, es decir, la capacidad que tienen muchas especies para provocar enfermedades al hombre que está en contacto con ellos (Huttunen et al, 2003;Anderson, 2003;Denning, 2006;Nevalainen y Morawska, 2009;Haleem y Mohan, 2012). En varias investigaciones realizadas en archivos y bibliotecas, se ha demostrado que estos agentes son la causa de muchas enfermedades profesionales y patologías situacionales (Florian, 2003;Valentín, 2010;Haleem y Mohan, 2012).…”