[EMERGING]Emerging
Inflammatory gene expression measured in macrophages exposed to toxins from damp-building fungi
Purified toxins from five fungi common on damp building materials each produced distinct inflammatory gene-expression profiles in a macrophage cell line.
How to read this
This library reports what studies found. An entry describes a study's design, its findings in its own terms, and its limits. Nothing here is a claim about what a Sage Co. home does, delivers, or prevents.
Last reviewed August 30, 2026.
What they studied
- Seven purified toxins produced by five fungi found on damp building materials, including Chaetomium globosum, Wallemia sebi, Penicillium corylophilum, and Trichoderma species.
- Exposure of RAW 264.7 macrophages at concentrations the authors calibrated to indoor inhalation scenarios.
- Measurement of inflammation-associated gene expression.
What they found
- All tested compounds were reported to alter inflammation-associated gene expression.
- Each compound was reported to produce a distinct expression signature.
- Responses were reported at the concentrations selected as indoor-relevant by the authors.
What this study does not establish
- A cell-line study; it does not measure responses in an intact airway or in people.
- Concentration selection is a modeling assumption, not a measured occupant dose.
- Gene expression changes are not clinical outcomes.
- This entry reports the study. It is not a statement about any building Sage Co. designs or constructs.
Source
Rand TG, Chang CT, McMullin DR, Miller JD (2017). Inflammation-associated gene expression in RAW 264.7 macrophages induced by toxins from fungi common on damp building materials. Toxicology In Vitro 43:16–20.
in vitroChaetomiumPenicilliuminflammation
Elsewhere under Moisture & Mold
- Meta-analyses of respiratory health outcomes reported in damp or moldy homes
- Review of epidemiologic evidence on dampness, mold, and dampness-related agents
- Bacteria, molds, and toxins measured in water-damaged building materials
- Actinomycetes and non-tuberculous mycobacteria measured against respiratory findings in a water-damaged office building
- Review of actinobacteria in indoor environments and reported respiratory effects
- Culture and molecular methods compared for actinobacteria on water-damaged building material
- Inflammatory response in mice after instillation of Streptomyces spores from a moldy building
- Co-occurrence of bacterial and fungal secondary metabolites measured in moisture-damaged homes
- Chaetomium globosum prevalence in surveyed water-damaged buildings and metabolite production on building materials
- Metabolites of Wallemia sebi measured at water activity below common mold-growth thresholds
- Associations between fungal species and specific water-damaged building materials
- Systematic review of fungal exposure and hypersensitivity pneumonitis
- Review of Stachybotrys chartarum, trichothecene mycotoxins, and damp building–related illness
- Immune response measured after single versus repeated Stachybotrys lung exposures in mice
- Nasal and olfactory effects of satratoxin G measured in rhesus monkeys
- Olfactory neuron loss and inflammation measured in mice after intranasal satratoxin G
- Lung inflammation measured in mice exposed to Aspergillus versicolor spores from a moisture-damaged building
- Lung responses measured in mice exposed to purified toxins from building-isolated Penicillium species
- Human brain cell responses measured at satratoxin concentrations reported from water-damaged buildings
- Time-series and clinical-trial data reported on illness in water-damaged building occupants
- Review of proposed injury mechanisms from exposure to water-damaged buildings
- Neuropsychological and electrocortical measures compared between mold-exposed subjects and controls