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Flow cytometric evaluation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus adhesion inhibition to human epithelial cells
Author(s) -
Falcioni T.,
Papa S.,
Campana R.,
Mannello F.,
Casaroli A.,
Burattini S.,
Baffone W.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
cytometry part b: clinical cytometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1552-4957
pISSN - 1552-4949
DOI - 10.1002/cyto.b.20056
Subject(s) - vibrio parahaemolyticus , flow cytometry , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , fluorescence microscope , adhesion , fluorescein isothiocyanate , cell adhesion , staining , biology , chemistry , cell , biochemistry , fluorescence , genetics , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
Background The present report demonstrates the usefulness of flow cytometry for a quantitative assessment of adhesion inhibition of a Vibrio parahaemolyticus strain to human epithelial cells to acquire more information about the nature of its adhesins. Methods The inhibition of the adhesive process to Hep‐2 was assayed by adding several monosaccharides to infected cells monolayers. The quantification of the adherent bacteria, labeled with a specific primary antibody plus a secondary fluorescein isothiocyanate–conjugated antibody, was performed by flow cytometry in comparison with light microscopy. The adherence was quantified in terms of the proportion of cells with adherent V. parahaemolyticus and as the mean of adherent bacteria per cell. Results The adhesion showed a percentage of 98% with a mean fluorescence channel of 331 comparable to those obtained by light microscopy. The addition of monosaccharides resulted in a D‐mannose and N‐acetyl‐galactosamine sensitive adherence. Even if this environmental strain also showed a mannose‐sensitive cell‐associated hemoagglutination that could mediate V. parahaemolyticus adherence, our results suggest that different sites for an irreversible adherence to host cell are involved. Conclusions Flow cytometry in combination with indirect immunofluorescence is an effective tool to investigate the adhesive process of bacteria to epithelial cells because it is more sensitive and reproducible than visual counting of bacteria performed in light microscopy. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.