Phagocytosis of <i>C. albicans</i> by <i>Drosophila</i> S2 Cells

Abstract

<div><p>(A) The <i>Drosophila</i> hemocyte-like S2 cell line phagocytoses <i>C. albicans</i>. S2 cells were co-incubated with GFP expressing <i>C. albicans</i> for the indicated times. Cells were fixed, and the filamentous actin of S2 cells was stained with rhodamine phalloidin and the S2 cell DNA with Hoechst 33258.</p> <p>(B) Quantification of phagocytosis of <i>C. albicans</i> and <i>S. cerevisiae</i> by S2 cells. S2 cells and the indicated fungal strain were co-incubated for various times, and the percentage of S2 cells that had phagocytosed one or more <i>C. albicans</i> was quantified by counting 50–100 S2 cells. The maximum time shown is 3 h, as the levels of phagocytosis did not significantly increase after this timepoint. Results are the average of four experiments, and the error bars indicate the standard deviation. As described in <a href="http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.0040004#s4" target="_blank">Materials and Methods</a>, the 3-h results were evaluated for statistical significance using the <i>t</i>-test, assuming unequal variance. As indicated by the asterisks, the values for heat-killed <i>C. albicans</i> and <i>S. cerevisiae</i> were statistically different from that of live <i>C. albicans,</i> with a confidence level <i>p</i> < 0.01.</p></div