Attachment of two auxotypes of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to cells of donors of African, European, and Indian descent.

Gonococci of the Arg-, Hyx-, Ura- auxotype are isolated most commonly from white patients and seldom from black patients. Five gonococcal isolates of the Arg-, Hyx-, Ura- auxotype and five of the Pro- auxotype were tested for their ability to attach to buccal epithelial cells or to attach or be ingested by polymorphonuclear leukocytes taken from two individuals each of three different racial backgrounds: European-American (caucasian), black American, and Indian from India. Despite the differences in race of the six individuals, there were no differences in the attachment or ingestion of the two gonococcal auxotypes to the two different cell types. The study does not explain why the Arg-, Hyx-, Ura- auxotype is isolated more frequently from whites.