FIG 5.

LL-37 causes morphological changes in Blastocystis isolates. Blastocystis cells were incubated with LL-37 for 1 h and analyzed by using an imaging flow cytometer. (A) Images show round and irregular cells, as determined by the circularity index generated by the software. (B) Bar graphs show that treatment of Blastocystis STs with LL-37 decreases the proportion of round cells. (C) Scanning electron micrographs also show that these cells have irregular shapes when treated with LL-37. The white arrows point to possible large membrane pores that could lead to cytoplasmic leakage. LL-37-treated Blastocystis ST4-WR1 cells also became highly fragmented. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.001.