Antibodies to molds and satratoxin in individuals exposed in water-damaged build

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1: Arch Environ Health. 2003 Jul;58(7):421-32. Related Articles,

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Antibodies to molds and satratoxin in individuals exposed in water-

damaged buildings.

Vojdani A, Thrasher JD, Madison RA, Gray MR, Heuser G, AW.

Immunosciences Lab, Inc., Beverly Hills, California, USA.

immunsci@...

Immunoglobulin (Ig)A, IgM, and IgG antibodies against Penicillium

notatum, Aspergillus niger, Stachybotrys chartarum, and satratoxin H

were determined in the blood of 500 healthy blood donor controls,

500 random patients, and 500 patients with known exposure to molds.

The patients were referred to the immunological testing laboratory

for health reasons other than mold exposure, or for measurement of

mold antibody levels. Levels of IgA, IgM, and IgG antibodies against

molds were significantly greater in the patients (p < 0.001 for all

measurements) than in the controls. However, in mold-exposed

patients, levels of these antibodies against satratoxin differed

significantly for IgG only (p < 0.001), but not for IgM or IgA.

These differences in the levels of mold antibodies among the 3

groups were confirmed by calculation of z score and by Scheffe's

significant difference tests. A general linear model was applied in

the majority of cases, and 3 different subsets were formed, meaning

that the healthy control groups were different from the random

patients and from the mold-exposed patients. These findings

indicated that mold exposure was more common in patients who were

referred for immunological evaluation than it was in healthy blood

donors. The detection of antibodies to molds and satratoxin H likely

resulted from antigenic stimulation of the immune system and the

reaction of serum with specially prepared mold antigens. These

antigens, which had high protein content, were developed in this

laboratory and used in the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)

procedure. The authors concluded that the antibodies studied are

specific to mold antigens and mycotoxins, and therefore could be

useful in epidemiological and other studies of humans exposed to

molds and mycotoxins.