Enumeration and detection of aerosolized Aspergillus fumigatus and Penicillium chrysogenum conidia and hyphae using a novel double immunostaining technique.

The identification of collected airborne unicellular fungal conidia and hyphae using nonviable techniques is subjective and an imprecise process. Similarly, to determine whether an individual is allergic to a particular genus requires a separate immunodiagnostic analysis. This study demonstrates the development of a novel double immunostaining halogen assay, which enables (1) the simultaneous identification of collected airborne fungal conidia and hyphae of Aspergillus fumigatus and Penicillium chrysogenum using monoclonal antibodies and (2) the demonstration of patient-specific allergy to the same particles using human serum IgE.

Fungal fragments and undocumented conidia function as new aeroallergen sources.

Background: More than 100 genera of fungal conidia are currently recognized as sources of allergens. The contribution of other fungal genera plus airborne fungal hyphae and fragmented conidia to allergic diseases is poorly understood.

Objective: We sought to investigate the expression of allergens from airborne wild-type fungi using the Halogen immunoassay, which uses allergic serum IgE to immunostain immobilized allergens extracted from individual fungal particles.