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Macrophage Cholesterol Depletion and Its Effect on the Phagocytosis of Cryptococcus neoformans
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Macrophage Cholesterol Depletion and Its Effect on the Phagocytosis of Cryptococcus neoformans

Published on: December 19, 2014

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Continuous sheath-free separation of drug-treated human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans by morphology in

Di Li1, Jessica Zielinski2, Lukasz Kozubowski2

  • 1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA.

Electrophoresis
|February 22, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Researchers developed a new method to separate drug-resistant Cryptococcus neoformans cells. This technique isolates enlarged fungal cells, aiding the study of antifungal drug resistance mechanisms.

Area of Science:

  • Mycology
  • Biotechnology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Cryptococcal meningitis, a fungal infection of the central nervous system, is often caused by Cryptococcus neoformans.
  • Current antifungal treatments are insufficient due to emerging drug resistance.
  • Fluconazole treatment induces morphological changes in C. neoformans, forming enlarged cell clusters called multimeras.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if multimeric cell formation is essential for Cryptococcus neoformans to develop drug resistance.
  • To develop and evaluate a method for separating multimeric C. neoformans cells from normal cells.

Main Methods:

  • Adaptation of a sheath-free elasto-inertial particle separation technique.
  • Fractionation of drug-treated C. neoformans cells based on morphology in biocompatible polymer solutions.
  • Evaluation of separation performance using efficiency, purity, and enrichment ratio metrics.

Main Results:

  • The study successfully fractionated C. neoformans cells into multimeric and normal populations.
  • The elasto-inertial particle separation technique demonstrated effectiveness in separating cells by morphology.
  • The influence of flow rate, polymer concentration, and microchannel height on separation was analyzed.

Conclusions:

  • A critical tool for separating morphologically distinct C. neoformans cells has been established.
  • This separation method facilitates the investigation of the role of cell morphology in antifungal drug resistance.
  • Further research can utilize this technique to understand and combat drug-resistant fungal infections.
Keywords:
Cell separationElasticityInertiaMicrofluidicsMorphology

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