Characterization of Lipopolysaccharides Present in Settled House Dust

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gold DR ; Larsson L ; Milton DK ; Park JH ; Szponar B
• Description:
  The 3-hydroxy fatty acids (3-OHFAs) in lipopolysaccharides (LPS) play an important role in determining endotoxin activity, and childhood exposure to endotoxin has recently been associated with reduced risk of atopic diseases. To characterize the 3-OHFAs in house dust (HD), we used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to assay 190 HD samples. Dust from beds, bedroom floors, family rooms, and kitchen floors was collected as part of a birth cohort study of childhood asthma (study 1) and a longitudinal study of home allergen and endotoxin (study 2). We also measured endotoxin activity with a Limulus assay and computed specific activity (endotoxin activity per nanomole of LPS). Longer-chain (C(16:0) and C(18:0)) 3-OHFAs were predominant in HD compared with short-chain (C(10:0), C(12:0), and C(14:0)) acids. Endotoxin activity was positively correlated with short-chain 3-OHFAs in both studies. In study 2, 3-OH C(16:0) was negatively correlated and 3-OH C(18:0) was not correlated with endotoxin activity, consistent with previous findings that the Limulus assay responds preferentially to LPS containing short-chain 3-OHFAs. Kitchen dust contained the highest concentrations of 3-OH C(10:0), the highest endotoxin activities, and the highest specific activities (P < 0.03). Bed dust contained the largest amounts of long-chain 3-OHFAs, the highest concentrations of LPS, and the lowest specific activities. Apartments had significantly different types of LPS (P = 0.03) compared with single-family homes in study 2. These data suggest that the Limulus assay may underestimate exposure to certain types of LPS. Because nontoxic LPS may have immune modulating effects, analysis of 3-OHFAs may be useful in epidemiologic studies. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Bacteria Biological Assay Dust Endotoxins Environmental Health Hypersensitivity Microbiology Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Allergens Bacterial-dusts Bioassays Biological-effects Children Dust-analysis Dust-particles Dust-sampling Environmental-factors Fatty-acids Polysaccharides Respiratory-system-disorders Seasonal-factors

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• ISSN:
  0099-2240
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  262-267
• Volume:
  70
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20024348
• Citation:
  Appl Environ Microbiol 2004 Jan; 70(1):262-267
• Contact Point Address:
  Donald K. Milton, Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
• Email:
  dmilton@hsph.harvard.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard School of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20030701
• Source Full Name:
  Applied and Environmental Microbiology
• End Date:
  20050630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:dc9d3a019037dca18885ddd739ed517d5425b42856f1bb6635a4ba085eab728e8bca818f09fa94437e8d8a889ff216cd8b43a80d1f935d017ad1e7fd13e28ed1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/196197/cdc_196197_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 139.53 KB ]