Figure 6. Thrombocytopenic mice rapidly succumb to C. albicans airway challenge.
(A) Total platelet count in whole blood from mice 2 h after platelet depletion with anti-GP1bα antibody.
(B) Survival curves (h) of platelet-depleted mice challenged once intranasally with PBS or 105 wild-type parental strain or ece1Δ/Δ C. albicans.
(C) Survival curve of platelet-depleted mice challenged intranasally with 16 μmol candidalysin or PBS.
(D–F) Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and whole lungs were collected 4 h after platelet-depleted mice were challenged intranasally with wild-type or ece1Δ/Δ C. albicans. (D) Gross appearance of lungs. (E) Microscopic appearance of lungs (H&E staining) and (F) quantitation of hemoglobin from BALF.
(G) Representative microCT-based imaging of platelet-sufficient and platelet-depleted mice challenged with either wild-type or ece1 Δ/Δ C. albicans as indicated. Bar graphs depict lung density as measured in Hounsfield units and aerated lung volume. H, heart; L, lung; #, areas of abnormal alveolar filling.
n ≥ 4, mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 and ****p < 0.0001 using two-tailed Student’s t test (A), one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test for multiple comparison (F–G), or Log-rank test for survival curves (B and C). Data are representative of two independent experiments. See also Figure S5.