Figure 3.
MGC formation and C. burnetii infection. Isolated placental macrophages (2 × 105 cells per assay) from eight different placentas were stimulated by C. burnetii (bacterium-to-cell ratio of 50:1) for 4 h, then washed to eliminate unbound bacteria and cultivated for 9 days. (A) The time course of the number of MGCs was determined by optical determination and the results expressed in percentage of cells presenting at least two nuclei. (B) A representative confocal picture is shown after 3 days with F-actin labeled with phalloidin-488 in green, nucleus stained with Hoechst 3342 in blue, and bacteria in red. Intracellular bacteria were observed in the sections found at the top and the right of the image. (C) The analyses of MGC formation and C. burnetii survival performed using four placentas are correlated (R2 = −0.88, p = 0.043).