Caprilli F, Mongiò F, Palamara G, Prignano G, Baldassarri L
Laboratory of Microbiology, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, Rome, Italy.
New Microbiol. 1993 Jan;16(1):51-6.
Gonococcal adherence was studied in vitro using buccal epithelial cells (BEC). In smears stained with the Gram method, a progressive decrease in gonococcal adherence to the BEC after some culture passages was observed. There was a parallel decrease to almost total disappearance in the number of fimbriated bacteria. An electron microscopy study showed that adherence to the epithelial cells was mediated by fimbriae and, in part, by a polysaccharide component of the bacterial cell wall which seems to guarantee persistent adherence ability, even after the loss of fimbriae.
