Epithelial cell association and hydrophobicity of Yersinia enterocolitica and related species.

Six of 11 test strains of Yersinia enterocolitica and related species that carried other markers of pathogenicity were found to associate with Henle 407 epithelial cells in vitro. All Henle-positive strains were hydrophobic when tested by hydrophobic interaction chromatography with phenyl-Sepharose and by partitioning in an aqueous-hexadecane mixture. Hydrophobicity was also exhibited by some of the Henle-negative strains. None of the test strains aggregated in low concentrations of ammonium sulphate, suggesting that protein structures such as fimbriae were not involved in hydrophobicity or epithelial cell association.