The Neisseria meningitidis capsule is important for intracellular survival in human cells.

ABSTRACT: While much data exist in the literature about how Neisseria meningitidis adheres to and invades human cells, its behavior inside the host cell is largely unknown. One of the essential meningococcal attributes for pathogenesis is the polysaccharide capsule, which has been shown to be important for bacterial survival in extracellular fluids. To investigate the role of the meningococcal capsule in intracellular survival, we used B1940, a serogroup B strain, and its isogenic derivatives, which lack either the capsule or both the capsule and the lipooligosaccharide outer core, to infect human phagocytic and nonphagocytic cells and monitor invasion and intracellular growth. Our data indicate that the capsule, which negatively affects bacterial adhesion and, consequently, entry, is, in contrast,

SUBMITTER: Spinosa MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1932921 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature