INDOOR AIR BACTERIA INDUCE MORE INTENSE PRODUCTION OF INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS THAN FUNGAL SPORES IN MOUSE AND HUMAN MACROPHAGES

摘要

Currently it is not known which microbes are the most harmful ones among the mixed population present in moisture damaged buildings. In this study the biological activity of fungi Aspergillus versicolor, Penicillium spinulosum and Stachybotrys chartarum, and the bacteria Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Streptomyces californicus were compared in mouse RAW264.7 and human 28SC macrophages by measuring the production of selected inflammatory markers and cytotoxicity. All bacteria induced significant production of inflammatory markers in mouse macrophages, but only the spores of Str. californicus induced the production also in human cells. Instead, exposure to fungal spores did not markedly increase the production of inflammatory markers in the studied cell lines. On the basis of equivalent numbers of bacteria and spores of fungi, the overall biological activity of bacteria was higher compared to fungi. These data suggest that bacteria in water-damaged buildings should be considered as possible causative agents of adverse inflammatory effects.