Fig. 3

Complement is required for KCs to capture C. neoformans. a Representative IVM images showing yeast cells (green, arrows) captured in the liver of WT and C3^−/− mice 30 min after i.v. infection with 100 × 10⁶ GFP-expressing C. neoformans. b Liver CFU was enumerated in WT and C3^−/− mice (n = 4–5 mice/group) 10 min and 3 h post i.v. infection with 5 × 10⁶ C. neoformans H99. c Vascular clearance and the half-life of circulating C. neoformans at various time points after injection of 100 × 10⁶ yeast cells into tail vein of WT and C3^−/− mice (n = 5 mice/group) by analysis of IVM videos. (d) Blood CFU was enumerated in WT and C3^−/− mice (n = 5 mice/group) 10 min post i.v. infection of 5 × 10⁶ C. neoformans. e The possibility of circulating C. neoformans being captured was calculated by analysis of IVM videos from infected WT and C3^−/− mice (n = 5 mice/group). f The possibility of trapped C. neoformans being released back to circulation was calculated by analysis of IVM videos from infected WT and C3^−/− mice (n = 5 mice/group). g CFU in different organs was enumerated 3 h after injection of 5 × 10⁶ C. neoformans into the tail vein of WT and C3^−/− mice (n = 4–5 mice/group). Data are expressed as mean ± SEM of 3 independent experiments. All data are from biologically distinct samples. Scale bars: 25 µm. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. NS: not significant. p values were calculated via two-way ANOVA (e, f) or Student’s t test (b, c, d, g). Source data are provided as a Source Data file