SUMMARY: Isoelectric focusing showed that Neisseria gonorrhoeae has an overall negative surface charge. Chemical modification of protein amino or carboxyl groups changed the surface charge and thereby altered the ability of the organisms to attach to human amnion cells grown in tissue culture. Attachment of modified and unmodified N. gonorrhoeae was increased by the presence of pili only when the bacteria bore a negative surface charge. Thus an important factor in the pathogenesis of gonorrhoea may be the ability of pili to facilitate attachment of N. gonorrhoeae by overcoming the initial electrostatic repulsive barrier which exists between it and the host cell.
DanonD.,
GoldsteinL.,
MarikovskyY.,
SkutelskyE.1972; Use of cationized ferritin as a label of negative charges on cell surfaces. Journal of Ultrastructure Research 38:500–510
FrenchD.,
EdsallJ. T.1945; The reaction of formaldehyde with amino acids and proteins. In Advances in Protein Chemistry pp. 277–335 Edited by
AnsonM. L.,
EdsallJ. T.
New York: Academic Press;
FullerR.1975; Nature of the determinant responsible for the adhesion of lactobacilli to chicken crop epithelial cells. Journal of General Microbiology 87:245–250
GittensG. J.,
JamesA. M.1963; Some physical investigations of the behaviour of bacterial surfaces.VI.Chemical modification of surface components. Biochimica et biophysica acta 66:237–249
HoareD. G.,
KoshlandD. E.1967; A method for the quantitative modification and estimation of carboxylic acid groups in proteins. Journal of Biological Chemistry 242:2447–2453
JamesG. W.,
RutterJ. M.1972; Role of the K88 antigen in the pathogenesis of neonatal diarrhoea caused by Escherichia coli in piglets. Infection and Immunity 6:918–927
James-HolmquestA. N.,
SwansonJ.,
BuchananT. M.,
WendleR. D.,
WilliamsR. P.1974; Differential attachment by pilated and non-pilated Neisseria gonorrhoeae to human sperm. Infection and Immunity 9:897–902
SobeslavskyO.,
PrescottB.,
ChannockR. M.1968; Absorption of Mycoplasma pneumoniae to neuraminic acid receptors of various cells and possible role in virulence. Journal of Bacteriology 96:695–705
SwansonJ.1973; Studies on gonococcus infection.IV.Pili: their role in attachment of gonococci to tissue culture cells. Journal of Experimental Medicine 137:571–589
SwansonJ.1975; Role of pili in interactions between Neisseria gonorrhoeae and eukaryotic cells in vitro. In Microbiology-1975 pp. 124–126 Edited by
SchlessingerD.
Washington: American Society for Microbiology;
SwansonJ.,
KrausS. J.,
GotschlichE. C.1971; Studies on gonococcus infection.I.Pili and zones of adhesion: their relation to gonococcal growth patterns. Journal of Experimental Medicine 137:571–589
WardM. E.,
RobertsonJ. N.,
EnglefieldP. M.,
WattP. J.1975; Gonococcal infection: invasion of the mucosal surfaces of the genital tract. In Microbiology-1975 pp. 188–199 Edited by
SchlessingerD.
Washington: American Society for Microbiology;
WardM. E.,
WattP. J.1972; Adherence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to urethral mucosal cells: an electron-microscopic study of human gonorrhoea. Journal of Infectious Diseases 126:601–605
WhiteL. A.,
KelloggD. S.1965; Neisseria gonorrhoeae identification in direct smears by a fluorescent antibody-counterstain method. Applied Microbiology 13:171–174