Figure 3.

Impact of germination on the adhesion forces of C. albicans cells to naïve and HBP-coated CVC surfaces. Cells were either incubated in PBS (yeast cells) or HBP (30-min and 60-min germinated cells). Individual cells were immobilized on FluidFM micropipettes and used for SCFS on naïve or HBP-coated tubing of CVC type I (surface delay time 0 s). A, B: Representative retraction curves obtained with the cell types indicated on untreated (a) or HBP-coated (b) CVC surfaces. C, D: Maximum adhesion forces (c) and rupture lengths (d) on naïve (white boxes) or HBP-coated (gray boxes) CVC surfaces. Data are shown as box and whisker plots (min-to-max) representing the mean values obtained from ≥10 individual cells per condition. *, P< 0.05; **, P< 0.01 (Mann Whitney U test)