A tissue culture bilayer model to study the passage of Neisseria meningitidis.

A tissue culture bilayer system has been developed as a model to study the mechanisms of attachment and invasion involved in the pathogenesis of Neisseria meningitidis. The model incorporates epithelial and endothelial cell layers separated by a microporous membrane and makes it possible to observe and quantify the passage of bacteria through the multiple layers and to study the mechanisms by which they make this passage. This model is adaptable to a wide variety of microbial pathogens and can be modified by substituting any physiologically relevant eucaryotic cells for the component layers. The system's makeup of cells of human origin and its reproducibility give it advantages over animal and primary organ culture models, while the added complexity of multiple layers allowing cell-to-cell communication makes it a more realistic human tissue model than standard cell monolayers.