Studies on Gonococcus Infection.

Pilated gonococci adhere to tissue culture cells to a much greater extent than do non-pilated organisms. A similar attachment propensity of pilated gonococci has been found also with human buccal epithelia cells. Pilated gonococci readily attach to andor are ingested by human neutrophils, in vitro. The role of pili in actually mediating such association between gonococci and leukocytes is unclear because of the occurrence of two forms of colony type 4 gonococci. One of these T4 shows little or no ability to associate with leukocytes whereas the other T4 is attached-ingested by leukocytes to an extent exceeding that of pilated, T2 gonococci. Type 2 gonococci are more capable of establishing an acute infection in a mouse model of gonococcal infection than are type 4 organisms. Methods have been developed for radioactively labelling gonococci with 14C or 3H. Also modifications of the critical point procedure have been devised such that gonococci and eukaryotic cells can be studied relative to their surface detail and surface relationships in the same specimen by electron microscopy.