Flow Cytometry Analysis of Mycobacteria and Mycobacteria-Infected Immune Cells

Flow cytometry enables the measurement of tens of features on individual cells from complex mixtures. Flow cytometry enables high-throughput quantification of cell size, gene and protein expression. In the case of studies of host-pathogen interactions, this tool provides a facile way of identifying cells that have been successfully infected by a pathogen. Several recent technological advances have greatly improved throughput and the number of features that can be simultaneously monitored by this technique. Here, we describe common workflows to study Mycobacterium tuberculosis heterogeneity and host-M. tuberculosis interactions using flow cytometry and related technologies.