Dales R, Miller D, White J, Dulberg C, Lazarovits A I
Health Effects Research Section, Environmental and Occupational Toxicology, Health Canada, Ottawa.
Arch Environ Health. 1998 May-Jun;53(3):190-5. doi: 10.1080/00039899809605694.
Reported residential fungal contamination has been associated consistently with increased symptoms among occupants; however, an objective measure of a health effect is lacking, and a pathophysiologic mechanism has not been established. Our objective was to determine if exposure to indoor fungal contamination influenced T-cell differentiation. In this study, we contrasted lymphocyte populations, measured by flow cytometry, between a group of children who lived in homes with considerable fungal contamination (n = 39) and a group in less-contaminated homes (n = 20). Indicators of fungal biomass were viable fungi in house dust and air ergosterol in the child's bedroom. Living in a more-contaminated home versus a less-contaminated home was associated with a larger number of CD3+ T cells expressing CD45RO (1.5 x 10(9)/I versus 1.1 x 10(9)/I, respectively; p = .05, two-tailed t testing) and a reduced CD4/CD8 ratio (1.6 versus 1.8, respectively; p = .04). The differences persisted over a 12-mo period, and they were not explained by the child's age or total serum IgE, dust mite antigens, and the presence of furry or feathered pets or a humidifier. The results suggest that residential fungal contamination leads to chronic stimulation of children's lymphocytes.
据报道，居住环境中的真菌污染一直与居住者症状增加有关；然而，缺乏对健康影响的客观衡量标准，且尚未建立病理生理机制。我们的目标是确定接触室内真菌污染是否会影响T细胞分化。在本研究中，我们通过流式细胞术对比了两组儿童的淋巴细胞群体，一组是居住在真菌污染严重的家中的儿童（n = 39），另一组是居住在污染较轻的家中的儿童（n = 20）。真菌生物量的指标是室内灰尘中的活真菌和儿童卧室空气中的麦角固醇。与居住在污染较轻的家中相比，居住在污染更严重的家中与表达CD45RO的CD3 + T细胞数量更多（分别为每升1.5×10⁹个与每升1.1×10⁹个；p = 0.05，双侧t检验）以及CD4/CD8比值降低（分别为1.6与1.8；p = 0.04）有关。这些差异在12个月期间持续存在，并且不能用儿童的年龄、总血清IgE、尘螨抗原以及是否有毛茸茸或带羽毛的宠物或加湿器来解释。结果表明，居住环境中的真菌污染会导致儿童淋巴细胞的慢性刺激。
