Encyclopedia of Experiments: Immunology
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Transcript
Begin with a culture of the murine macrophage cell line, grown in complete RPMI 1640 medium, as described in the text protocol.
Additionally, prepare a culture of Cryptococcus neoformans resuspended in PBS to the desired concentration, as mentioned in the text protocol.
To stain the cryptococcal cells with the phagocytosis stain, dispense 999 microliters of the cells into a microcentrifuge tube. Add 1 microliter of the stain to the tube. Incubate the cells for 1 hour at room temperature, in the dark, with slow agitation.
After incubation, wash the cells by first centrifugation. Then, discard the supernatant. Resuspend the cells with PBS and repeat the washing step two additional times.
Dispense 100 microliters of the Cryptococcus neoformans cell suspension into the wells of the 96-well plate containing the cultured macrophages.
To study the effect of the test drugs on macrophage phagocytosis, dispense 100 microliters of the desired test drug into appropriate wells of the 96-well plate as described in the text protocol.
Incubate the plate in a carbon dioxide incubator for 2 to 6 hours. At the end of the incubation, measure the fluorescence from the phagocytic stain.
