Fig. 1: Neutrophil cooperation against clusters of C. albicans.
From: Neutrophil swarming delays the growth of clusters of pathogenic fungi
a Living C. albicans were patterned in clusters on poly-l-lysine/zetag arrays at different densities. Purified human neutrophils were added to the arrays to observe host-pathogen interactions. Time-lapse images show the sustained neutrophil swarming to large clusters (100+ yeast), a mix of dynamic swarm sizes over time during the swarming responses to intermediate sized clusters of yeast (100-20) and no swarming to scattered yeast. b The dynamics of swarming responses, measured by area of the swarm, was quantified over time. Lines show the average of the responses for each group. c N = 24 swarms for the 100+ group, 42 for the 100-20 group and 29 for the 20-0 group across two independent donors. Individual swarm tracks are shown for the 100-20 group, split by qualitative phenotype. d Swarming was conducted in the presence of the LTB4 synthesis inhibitor (MK-886 1 µM) or blockers of the LTB4 receptor BLT1 (U75302). The area of C. albicans growth was quantified at 16 hours. Results are normalized to the growth of the C. albicans alone control. The results of untreated neutrophils are shown as a baseline. N = 144 swarms across 3 donors for MK-886, 96 swarms from one representative donor for U75302 and 240 swarms across three donors for the untreated PMN. e Different numbers of human neutrophils were incubated with arrays of C. albicans and fungal growth was quantified at 16 hours. Results were normalized to the growth of the C. albicans alone control. N = 192 swarms across three different donors. Error bars represent mean +/− standard deviation. ****p< 0.0001 Kruskal-Wallis with Dunns post-test. Scale bar is 50 µm.
