[Adhesiveness in Neisseria meningitidis. A virulence factor?].

The role of adhesivity as a factor of virulence in cases of N. meningitidis has not yet been established. Unlike other bacteria in which the presence of adhesivity reflects an enhanced virulence, a high capacity of adherence is associated with a low virulence and invasive capacity in cases of meningococcus. In order to gain more insight into the knowledge of this phenomenon we have studied the adhesivity of 109 strains of N. meningitidis to human pharyngeal epithelial cells. Twenty nine out of the 109 strains were isolated from blood or spinal fluid of patients with meningococcal infection (meningitis or septicemia), whereas the remaining 80 strains were obtained from pharyngeal smears of healthy carriers. The adhesivity was measured as the number of meningococci adhered to 50 epithelial cells according to Craven's scale. Strains of healthy carriers showed a greater adhesivity than that of patients (p less than 0.001). The relevance of the pharyngeal area in the evaluation of the adhesive capacity is in accordance with the hypothesis that meningococcal adhesivity decreases when the microorganism crosses the pharyngeal epithelium. The results would support the concept that the virulence of N. meningitidis is related to its adhesiveness.