FIG 2 .

METH enhances fungal adhesion to A549 human epithelial lung cells. (A) Attachment of cryptococcal cells to untreated or METH-treated A549 cells was determined by counting CFU. Bars indicate the averages of the results of three measurements per well (n = 2 per condition), and error bars denote standard deviations. Asterisks denote P value significance (*, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.001) calculated by analysis of variance and adjusted by use of the Bonferroni correction. (B) METH promotes C. neoformans adhesion to epithelial cells. After coincubation with 25 µM METH, epithelial cells were washed and incubated with wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) to label sialic acid on cell surfaces (red). Cryptococcal cells were incubated with MAb 18B7-Alexa Fluor-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG1 stained to label the capsular polysaccharide (blue). Bar, 10 µm. (C) Zeta potential of C. neoformans grown with or without METH. Each symbol represents the value for 1 fungal cell (n = 20 per group). Dashed lines represent averages of the results. Error bars denote standard deviations. Asterisks denote P value significance (*, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.001; ns, not significant) calculated by analysis of variance and adjusted by use of the Bonferroni correction. For panels A and C, experiments were performed twice, with similar results.