FLOW-CYTOMETRY EVALUATION OF COMPLEMENT-MEDIATED BACTERIAL-MEMBRANE DAMAGE

The study of the complement-outer bacterial membrane interactions is g aining enthusiasm for applying a continuous development of more specia lized techniques. In this paper a novel flow cytometry technique shows that highly fluorescent lucifer yellow-stained Neisseriae gonorrhoeae when exposed to the redox reaction of p-nitro blue chloride tetrazoli um (NET), as formazan precipitation takes place, a shift to lesser flu orescent channels of the histogram population occurs. That effect is l abeled NET-laser beam quenching (NBT-LBQ). A significant difference by Kolmogorov-Smirnov summation curve analysis is found between compleme nt heat-inactivated and its counterpart assessed with normal complemen t microorganisms. The operation of this NBT-LBQ effect by microbial fl ow cytometry casts an interesting potential for the evaluation of the outer membrane-complement-interaction of serum sensitive microorganism s.