Microbial growth on water-damaged building materials is commonly associated with adverse health effects in the occupants. We examined the growth of Stachybotrys chartarum, Aspergillus versicolor, Penicillium spinulosum, and Streptomyces californicus, isolated from water-damaged buildings, on six different brands of plasterboards. The microbial growth was compared with the biological activity of the spores, that is the potential to induce cytotoxicity and proinflammatory mediators in RAW264.7 macrophages. These results showed that the microbial growth on plasterboard depended on both the microbial strain and the brand of plasterboard used. The biological activity of spores appeared to be regulated by different growth conditions on plasterboards so that good microbial growth was associated with a low bioactivity of the spores, whereas the spores collected from plasterboard supporting only weak growth usually were biologically active. Cytotoxicity of either S. chartarum or A. versicolor did not correlate with any particular growth conditions or induced inflammatory responses. Instead, there were positive correlations between cytotoxicity and levels of induced proinflammatory cytokines for P. spinulosum and S. californicus. These data suggest that both the microbial growth on plasterboard and the resulting bioactivity of spores vary and might be affected by changing the growth conditions provided by the plasterboards.

The effects of plasterboard composition on the growth and sporulation of Stachybotrys chartarum as well as on the inflammatory potential of the spores were studied. S. chartarum was grown on 13 modified plasterboards under saturated humidity conditions. The biomass was estimated by measuring the ergosterol content of the S. chartarum culture while the spore-induced cytotoxicity and production of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-␣), and interleukin-6 in mouse macrophages was used to illustrate the bioactivity of spores. The ergosterol content of S. chartarum correlated with the number of spores collected from plasterboards. The growth and sporulation decreased compared to that of the reference board in those cases where (i) the liner was treated with biocide, (ii) starch was removed from the plasterboard, or (iii) desulfurization gypsum was used in the core. Spores collected from all the plasterboards were toxic to the macrophages. The biocide added to the core did not reduce the growth; in fact, the spores collected from that board evoked the highest cytotoxicity. The conventional additives used in the core had inhibitory effects on growth. Recycled plasterboards used in the core and the board lacking the starch triggered spore-induced TNF-␣ production in macrophages. In summary, this study shows that the growth of a strain of S. chartarum on plasterboard and the subsequent bioactivity of spores were affected by minor changes to the composition of the core or liners, but it could not be totally prevented without resorting to the use of biocides. However, incomplete prevention of microbial growth by biocides even increased the cytotoxic potential of the spores.

Microbial growth on moisture-damaged building materials is commonly associated with adverse health effects in the occupants. In moisture damage situations, the environmental conditions as well as the dominant microbial species will vary, leading to a diversity of microbes and continual changes in the different microbial populations. Currently, very little is known about the effects of microbial cocultures on the potential harmfulness of the microbial population. In this study we have investigated the effects of cocultivation of certain indoor air microbes on the inflammatory and cytotoxic potential of their spores. We grew various microbial combinations made from strains of Streptomyces californicus, Stachybotrys chartarum, Aspergillus versicolor, and Penicillium spinulosum on wetted plasterboard. After 5 or 10 wk of growth, the spores were collected from the plasterboards, mouse RAW264.7 macrophages were exposed to the spores, and after 24 h the induced inflammatory and cytotoxic responses were analyzed. Among all the tested microbes and their combinations, the spores of Str. californicus proved to be the most potent inducer of cytotoxicity and inflammatory responses. These results indicate also that microbial coculture may support the growth of certain microbes with high immunotoxic potency such as Str.californicus. Furthermore, coculture containing S. chartarum and A. versicolor caused a synergistic increase in cytotoxicity compared to the sum response induced by the pure cultures, but no effect on inflammatory responses was detected. Generally, spore-induced cytotoxicity and production of inflammatory markers increased during the growth period from 5 to 10 wk, suggesting that the immunotoxic potency of spores increases with time.

Aims: The effects of plasterboard composition on Streptomyces californicus growth and bioactivity of spores were studied. Methods and Results: Streptomyces californicus was grown on 13 modified plasterboards under saturated humidity conditions. The total content of fatty acid methyl esters was used for quantifying S. californicus biomass, while the spore-induced cytotoxicity and production of nitric oxide (NO), tumour necrosis factor-alpha, and interleukine-6 (IL-6) in mouse macrophages was used to assess the bioactivity of spores. Removal of starch completely from the plasterboard or only from the core reduced significantly the biomass production and the biological activity of spores in comparison with reference board. The biocide added into the core or on the liner decreased the growth markedly and inhibited the sporulation totally. The biomass production correlated positively with the spore number, cytotoxicity, and production of NO and IL-6. Conclusions: Streptomyces californicus grew under nutrient limitation on all studied plasterboards. The starch is the major factor enabling S. californicus to grow and to produce biologically active metabolites on plasterboard. Significance and Impact of the Study: The composition of building material has an impact on microbial growth and bioactivity of spores which may be involved in complex mechanisms leading to respiratory symptoms in the occupants in moisture damaged buildings.

Microorganisms, when grown on wetted plasterboards, can produce bioactive compounds capable of inducing inflammatory and toxic reactions in mammalian cells. The paper liner of plasterboard is commonly regarded as the major substrate for microbial growth. In this study, we cultured Stachybotrys chartarum, Aspergillus versicolor, Penicillium spinulosum, and Streptomyces californicus on liners and cores of plasterboards in order to examine the role of these main plasterboard components on microbial growth and the resulting bioactivity, which was assessed as the ability of microbial spores to induce inflammatory responses and to evoke cytotoxicity in mouse macrophages. The microbes, isolated from mold problem buildings, were grown under saturated humidity conditions on wetted liners and cores of six different plasterboards. The spores were collected, applied to RAW264.7 macrophages at different doses, and evaluated 24 h after exposure for their ability to evoke cytotoxicity and to stimulate production of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). In general, microbial growth was better on the cores than on the liners. All of the studied microbes collected from cores induced a dose-dependent production of TNFalpha in macrophages. The TNFalpha production stimulated by spores of Stachybotrys, Aspergillus, and Streptomyces paralleled their cytotoxicity. Spores of Streptomyces and Aspergillus collected from liners were among the most potent inducers of NO and IL-6. Good growth of Stachybotrys on cores was associated with high cytotoxicity. Penicillium grew only on cores, but it did not induce major inflammatory mediator productions, nor was it significantly cytotoxic. These results indicate that previously reported microbial growth on plasterboards and spore-induced production of important inflammatory mediators and cell death in macrophages is not only due to the paper liner of plasterboard, but the core material also has a crucial role.