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ELISA MEASUREMENT OF STACHYLYSIN IN SERUM TO QUANTIFY HUMAN EXPOSURES TO THE INDOOR MOLD STACHYBOTRYS CHARTARUM
Citation:
Van Emon, J M., A W. Reed, I. Yike, AND S J. Vesper. ELISA MEASUREMENT OF STACHYLYSIN IN SERUM TO QUANTIFY HUMAN EXPOSURES TO THE INDOOR MOLD STACHYBOTRYS CHARTARUM. JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE 45(6):582-591, (2003).
Impact/Purpose:
To understand children's risks from exposure to molds in their environment and to explore risk management options for mitigating those risks.
Description:
Problem- To develop a measurable indicator of human exposure to Stachybotys chartarum.
Methods- Antibodies were produced against the hemolytic agent stachylysin obtained from the mold S. chartarum. These antibodies were used to develop two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods for the analysis of stachylysin in human and rat sera and environmental samples.
Results- Stachylysin was measured in rat pups that received nasal instillations of S. chartarum conidia but not in control rat serum. Stachylysin in the serum of five human adults exposed to S. chartarum in water damaged environments was 371 ng/mL but none was detected in the control serum. Stachylysin was also quantified in spore, wallboard, mycelial and dust samples.
Conclusions-The measurement of stachylysin may be a useful indicator in assessing human exposure to S. chartarum and in determining the presence of this indoor mold.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through its Office of Research and Development, funded and collaborated in the research described here. It has been subjected to the Agency's peer review and has been approved as an EPA publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the EPA for use.