BACKGROUND: Fluctuations in the level of mite allergens in domestic house dust are the result of changes in the balance between synthesis, removal and decay. Purely physical forces as well as enzymatic degradation, mediated by house dust inhabiting microbes, may contribute to the decay of allergens in domestic dust. Knowledge about the speed of decay is essential for an understanding of the dynamics of allergen levels. OBJECTIVE: The present study is a quantitative assessment of the speed of decay at nine combinations of temperature (15 degrees C, 20 degrees C and 25 degrees C) and relative humidity (33%, 55% and 75%). METHODS: Samples of mite infested material of an old rug were stored at these temperature/relative humidity-combinations for 6, 12 or 18 months, after the mites were killed by either a freezing treatment or an acaricide (lindane). The microbes living in the rug presumably survive these treatments. Concentrations of Der p I and Der p II + Der f II, in extracts of the rug material, were measured by radio immunoassay. RESULTS: No significant changes in the levels of der p I and Der p II + Der f II, could be detected even after 1 1/2 year at a high temperature and humidity. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that mite allergens can be extremely stable under normal domestic circumstances.
BACKGROUND: Fluctuations in the level of mite allergens in domestic house dust are the result of changes in the balance between synthesis, removal and decay. Purely physical forces as well as enzymatic degradation, mediated by house dust inhabiting microbes, may contribute to the decay of allergens in domestic dust. Knowledge about the speed of decay is essential for an understanding of the dynamics of allergen levels. OBJECTIVE: The present study is a quantitative assessment of the speed of decay at nine combinations of temperature (15 degrees C, 20 degrees C and 25 degrees C) and relative humidity (33%, 55% and 75%). METHODS: Samples of mite infested material of an old rug were stored at these temperature/relative humidity-combinations for 6, 12 or 18 months, after the mites were killed by either a freezing treatment or an acaricide (lindane). The microbes living in the rug presumably survive these treatments. Concentrations of Der p I and Der p II + Der f II, in extracts of the rug material, were measured by radio immunoassay. RESULTS: No significant changes in the levels of der p I and Der p II + Der f II, could be detected even after 1 1/2 year at a high temperature and humidity. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that mite allergens can be extremely stable under normal domestic circumstances.
Authors: Jay Portnoy; Jeffrey D Miller; P Brock Williams; Ginger L Chew; J David Miller; Fares Zaitoun; Wanda Phipatanakul; Kevin Kennedy; Charles Barnes; Carl Grimes; Désirée Larenas-Linnemann; James Sublett; David Bernstein; Joann Blessing-Moore; David Khan; David Lang; Richard Nicklas; John Oppenheimer; Christopher Randolph; Diane Schuller; Sheldon Spector; Stephen A Tilles; Dana Wallace Journal: Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol Date: 2013-12 Impact factor: 6.347
Authors: Mario Sánchez-Borges; Enrique Fernandez-Caldas; Wayne R Thomas; Martin D Chapman; Bee Wah Lee; Luis Caraballo; Nathalie Acevedo; Fook Tim Chew; Ignacio J Ansotegui; Leili Behrooz; Wanda Phipatanakul; Roy Gerth van Wijk; Demoly Pascal; Nelson Rosario; Motohiro Ebisawa; Mario Geller; Santiago Quirce; Susanne Vrtala; Rudolf Valenta; Markus Ollert; Giorgio Walter Canonica; Moises A Calderón; Charles S Barnes; Adnan Custovic; Suwat Benjaponpitak; Arnaldo Capriles-Hulett Journal: World Allergy Organ J Date: 2017-04-18 Impact factor: 4.084