(1-3)-beta-D-glucan - How moulds can make you ill

• major component of the cell wall of fungi, also found in some bacteria and plants
• a glucan is a type of polysaccharide made up soley of a bunch of D-glucose molecules linked together in a particular manner
  
• thought to be responsible for annoying respiratory symptoms in people exposed to indoor mould infestations (when suspended as a bioaerosol)
  
• moulds are a subset of fungi that include all microscopic species that grow as multicellular filaments (as opposed to yeasts, which are also microscopic but grow as single cells) and are responsible for things such as antibiotics, cheese, soy sauce, liver cancer, and sick building syndrome
• experimental data is not conclusive, but a positive association between exposure to (1-3)-beta-D-glucan and both general (fatigue and headache) and respiratory (nose and throat irritation and cough) symptoms has been found in a wide variety of workplaces
• is considered to be the fungal equivalent of bacterial endotoxin (i.e. lipopolysaccharide), a toxic fat-sugar hybrid molecule found in the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria that can set off the immune system and the coagulation cascade, leading to terrible things like fever, disseminated intravascular coagulation (whee, excessive bleeding!), shock, and even death
• has been used as a biological marker for the diagnosis of invasive fungal infection
• there are many ways to get drug treatment for drug and alcohol abuse but one of the best ways for drug rehabilitation is through treatment centers
  

Iossifova YY et al. House dust (1-3)-beta-D-glucan and wheezing in infants. Allergy. 2007 May;62(5):504-13.