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. 1991 May;29(5):911–915. doi: 10.1128/jcm.29.5.911-915.1991

Quantification and assessment of viability of Pneumocystis carinii organisms by flow cytometry.

S E Lapinsky 1, D Glencross 1, N G Car 1, J M Kallenbach 1, S Zwi 1
PMCID: PMC269907  PMID: 2056058

Abstract

Analysis of drug efficacy in animal models of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia requires an accurate method of quantification of organisms, as well as a means of assessing viability. Lung homogenates were prepared from a colony of athymic nude F344 rats experiencing a spontaneous outbreak of P. carinii pneumonia. With the fluorescent nucleic acid stain propidium iodide, flow cytometric analysis was able to quantify P. carinii cysts and trophozoites reproducibly. As this stain is excluded by living cells, this method was also used to assess the viability of organisms. Application of this technique to analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage specimens was demonstrated.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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