Abstract：
Quantification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) growth dynamics in cell-based in vitro infection models is traditionally carried out by measurement of colony forming units (CFU). However, Mtb being an extremely slow growing organism (16-24 h doubling time), this approach requires at least 3 weeks of incubation to obtain measurable readouts. In this chapter, we describe an alternative approach based on time-lapse microscopy and quantitative image analysis that allows faster quantification of Mtb growth dynamics in host cells. In addition, this approach provides the capability to capture other readouts from the same experimental setup, such as host cell viability, bacterial localization as well as the dynamics of propagation of infection between the host cells.
摘要：
传统上，基于细胞的体外感染模型中结核分枝杆菌（Mtb）生长动力学的定量是通过测量集落形成单位（CFU）来进行的。然而,Mtb是一种生长极其缓慢的生物（倍增时间16-24小时），这种方法需要至少3周的孵育才能获得可测量的读数.在这一章中,我们描述了一种基于延时显微镜和定量图像分析的替代方法，该方法可以更快地定量宿主细胞中的Mtb生长动力学。此外,这种方法提供了从相同的实验设置中捕获其他读数的能力，如宿主细胞活力，细菌定位以及宿主细胞之间感染传播的动力学。
