Fungal Glucans

From the World Health Organization in its report WHO Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality: Dampness and Mould, published July 16, 2009

2.3.4 Fungal (13)-β-D-glucans

(1→3)-β-D-glucans are non-allergenic, water-insoluble structural cell-wall components of most fungi, some bacteria, most higher plants and many lower plants (Stone, Clarke, 1992). They consist of glucose polymers with variable relative molecular mass and degree of branching (Williams, 1997) and may account for up to 60% of the dry weight of the cell wall of fungi (Klis, 1994). In the fungal cell wall, (1→3)-β-D-glucans are linked to proteins, lipids and carbohydrates such as mannan and chitin, and they contain (1→6)-β-glucan side-branches, which may connect with adjacent (1→3)-β-D-glucan polymers (Klis, 1994). The (1→3)-β-Dglucan content of fungal cell walls has been reported to be relatively independent of growth conditions (Rylander, 1997a; Foto et al., 2004). (1→3)-β-D-glucans have immunomodulating properties and may affect respiratory health (Douwes, 2005; see also section 4.2.1).

The methods used to analyse (1→3)-β-D-glucans in environmental (settled or airborne) dust samples have not been standardized, and studies are therefore not comparable. In Sweden and Switzerland, the concentrations in buildings with fungal problems ranged from about 10 to more than 100 ng/m3 in a Limulus amoebocyte lysate assay in airborne dust samples generated by rigorous agitation of settled dust in the buildings (Rylander, 1999) (see section 2.4 for a description of analytical methods). The concentrations in buildings with no obvious fungal problems were close to 1 ng/m3. The mean levels of (1→3)-β-D-glucans in house dust in Germany and the Netherlands, determined with a specific enzyme immunoassay, were comparable: 1000–2000 μg/g dust and 500–1000 μg/m2 (Douwes et al., 1996, 1998, 2000; Gehring et al., 2001; Chew et al., 2001). Samples were taken in houses that were not selected because of fungal problems and were analysed in the same laboratory with identical procedures. No airborne samples were taken.