Labelling of Candida auris Cell Walls to Examine Levels of PAMP Exposure by Flow Cytometry and Fluorescence Microscopy

Abstract

Pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) of the fungal cell wall are primary targets for the innate immune system of animals. Therefore, characterizing PAMP exposure of fungal pathogens helps to elucidate how they interact with their hosts at a molecular level. Fluorescent labelling can be used to monitor exposure of multiple fungal cell wall PAMPs in a single experiment. Here, we describe a protocol to simultaneously label chitin, mannan, and β-1,3-glucan in Candida auris to study these PAMPs by fluorescence microscopy and allow high-throughput examination of their exposure by flow cytometry.