The effect of length of incubation on adherence of group B streptococci to epithelial cells.
Adhesion of group B streptococci to human epithelial vaginal and buccal cells proceeded in three phases which differed qualitatively. Maximum adhesion took place within 10 min of interaction, during the second phase (10-15 min), the percentage of adherent cells decreased significantly (P less than 0.05) whereas during the last phase the decrease became stabilized at a value which differed significantly from the maximum (P less than 0.01). The cause of variability in the number of positively reacting cells in relation to the exposure time is discussed.
D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004848:Epithelium / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology; D013292:Streptococcus agalactiae / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology