XTT Assay of Antifungal Activity

XTT assay is a colorimetric method that uses the tetrazolium dye, 2,3-bis-(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulphenyl)-(2H)-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide (XTT) to quantify cell-mediated damage to fungi. Actively respiring fungal cells convert the water-soluble XTT to a water-soluble, orange colored formazan product (Meshulam et al., 1995). Here, we describe the protocol that measures the ability of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) to exert antifungal activity. This approach was first established with human polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) by Meshulam et al. (1995) and then adapted to pDC by Ramirez-Ortiz et al. (2011) and Loures et al. (2015). It can be modified for use with other effector cells and to test compounds for antifungal activity.