title: The importance of being in or out.
abstract: Phagocytosis is an essential function of host defenses against invading microbes, and the study of phagocytosis relies on knowing if a target object is bound to the outer surface of a cell, or has been internalized by it. In the inaugural year of FEMS Microbiology Letters, Dr Jan Hed published a novel technique for discriminating between intracellular and extracellularly bound bacteria and yeasts. The original method used crystal violet to quench the fluorescence emission of extracellular fluorescein-labeled bacteria and yeasts while leaving intracellular particles largely unaffected. The technique of fluorescence quenching was a major catalyst for phagocytosis research using living cells, in part due to its accuracy, flexibility and adaptability to a variety of experimental systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104-5410, USA.|Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104-5410, USA.
authors.forename: Douglas A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Drevets
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006801:Humans; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000166:cytology* / Q000382:microbiology; D010587:Phagocytosis; D015003:Yeasts
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes
keywords: fluorescence quenching; in:on discrimination; phagocytosis