0000000000951241
AUTHOR
A Stüben
Novel aspect of amphotericin B action: accumulation in human monocytes potentiates killing of phagocytosed Candida albicans.
The influence of low doses of amphotericin B on the capacity of human monocytes to kill Candida albicans was investigated. Killing rates were quantified by a novel flow cytometric assay and were found to be 37% +/- 3% (standard error of the mean) after 3 h. Preincubation of monocytes for 6 to 20 h with low concentrations of amphotericin B (0.2 microgram/ml) resulted in a markedly augmented fungicidal capacity. Enhancement of killing was 80% +/- 11% (standard error of the mean) over that by the controls. This effect did not appear to be due to amphotericin B-dependent monocyte activation; the respiratory burst and expression of human leukocyte antigen-DR were unaltered, and no stimulation of…
Colorimetric susceptibility testing for Aspergillus fumigatus: comparison of menadione-augmented 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide and Alamar blue tests
Two colorimetric methods that use Alamar Blue or 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) for assaying the in vitro activities of antifungal agents have been described. We report that both tests performed similarly when the antifungal activity of amphotericin B against Candida albicans was determined. However, only the MTT test generated interpretable data when Aspergillus fumigatus was used.