Figure 8.

Survival of P. lutzii cells within macrophages. Prior to the ex vivo assays, P. lutzii yeast cells were cultured under NCR conditions for 48 h, followed by incubation with macrophages at a ratio of 1:5 (macrophages to yeast cells). The cells were then incubated for 12 and 24 h at 36 °C and in 5% CO₂. The viable cell count was determined via quantification of colony-forming units (CFUs). The mean value and standard deviation were calculated from triplicates, and statistical analysis was conducted using Student’s t-test, showing values of p ≤ 0.05 (*) and p ≤ 0.01 (**), considered as statistically significant. BHI: brain heart infusion; Prol: proline; Glut: glutamine.