A novel technique for studying the adherence of Candida albicans to HEp-2 cells

Kevin A. K.A. Kavanagh, Róisín M. R.M. Weedle, Mahmoud Afif M.A. Ghannoum, Peter A. P.A. Whittaker

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Factors which affected the adherence of the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans to HEp-2 cells were investigated. In order to study this phenomenon a novel means of isolating HEp-2 cells with adherent Candida from mixtures of cells was developed. This involved attaching a magnetic bead, with the aid of an antibody, to the surface of the epithelial cell. Initial studies revealed that individual beads could be attached to approximately 70% of HEp-2 cells by varying the original bead to cell ratio. Such bead-HEp-2 complexes could subsequently be collected in a magnetic field. The use of this method for isolating HEp-2 cells with adherent yeast obviated a number of the problems associated with the more conventionally employed technique of differential filtration. A variety of factors were identified as affecting the extent of Candida-HEp-2 adherence and these included the incubation temperature, the phase of yeast cell growth and the carbon source upon which the yeast was grown. © 1992. © 2014 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)39-46
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Microbiological Methods
Volume16
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1992
Externally publishedYes

Funding Agency

  • Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences

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