Stephens D S, Farley M M
Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.
Rev Infect Dis. 1991 Jan-Feb;13(1):22-33. doi: 10.1093/clinids/13.1.22.
The human nasopharynx is the natural habitat and reservoir for Neisseria meningitidis and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib). Meningococcal and Hib pathogenesis was studied in human nasopharyngeal tissue in organ culture. Inocula of greater than or equal to 10(6) meningococci or cfu of Hib were required for consistent production of infection in these cultures. By 24 hours meningococci and Hib grew to 10(8)-10(10) cfu/mL in culture supernatants, while 10(4)-10(7) cfu per organ culture were tissue associated. These studies further indicated that nasopharyngeal mucus contains components that specifically bind Hib; that both meningococci and Hib cause cytotoxicity, resulting in breakdown of tight junctions of epithelial cells, sloughing of ciliated cells, and ciliostasis; that pili are the most important components mediating initial attachment of meningococci to non-ciliated epithelial cells of the human nasopharynx; that Hib expresses both pilus and nonpilus adhesions that facilitate attachment to nonciliated cells; and that meningococci and Hib both invade the epithelial surface to reach the submucosa but do so by different routes. Meningococci and Hib have evolved successful, although divergent, mechanisms by which to infect the human nasopharynx.
人类鼻咽部是脑膜炎奈瑟菌和b型流感嗜血杆菌（Hib）的自然栖息地和储存库。在器官培养的人鼻咽组织中研究了脑膜炎球菌和Hib的发病机制。在这些培养物中，一致产生感染需要接种大于或等于10⁶个脑膜炎球菌或Hib的菌落形成单位（cfu）。到24小时时，脑膜炎球菌和Hib在培养上清液中生长至10⁸ - 10¹⁰ cfu/mL，而每个器官培养物中有10⁴ - 10⁷ cfu与组织相关。这些研究进一步表明，鼻咽黏液含有特异性结合Hib的成分；脑膜炎球菌和Hib都会引起细胞毒性，导致上皮细胞紧密连接破坏、纤毛细胞脱落和纤毛运动停止；菌毛是介导脑膜炎球菌与人鼻咽非纤毛上皮细胞初始附着的最重要成分；Hib表达菌毛和非菌毛黏附素，促进其与非纤毛细胞的附着；脑膜炎球菌和Hib都侵入上皮表面到达黏膜下层，但途径不同。脑膜炎球菌和Hib已经进化出成功但不同的感染人类鼻咽部的机制。
