Fig. 8: Murine ICs internalize and acidify E. coli. An “IC reporter” kidney tubule with tdT-expressing ICs (red) was perfused with pHrodo Green E. coli-coated BioParticles for phagocytosis that fluoresce green when acidified.
From: Kidney intercalated cells are phagocytic and acidify internalized uropathogenic Escherichia coli
a At the 0 min time point red ICs are seen (arrow). Because the 0 min time point started ~1 min after injection when we identified our target tubule and narrowed the focus, some cells may be already starting to uptake bioparticles (arrowhead). b Increasing green fluorescence occurs in patchy areas in the cytoplasm in an isolated IC (arrow) as the experiment progresses to the 2.8 min time point but not some remain red (arrow). c At the 7.1 min time point, most ICs are increasingly green (arrowheads), but an isolated IC remains red (arrow). d At the 13.5 min time point, variable uptake/acidification can be seen with relatively high (arrowhead), medium (star), or low (arrow) green fluorescence visualized. No appreciable green fluorescence is present in red fluorescence-negative cells (presumed PCs) (pound symbol) within the tubule. a–d Magnification 20×, with digital zoom. Images representative from imaging of three tubules from two mice. Each image is from the same tubule and imaging plane, but at a different time point. Because of breathing-induced cell movement, cellular morphology and position will vary from image to image. Images are representative of intravital experiments on two individual “IC reporter” mice. Source data are provided as a Source Data File.
