title: Adherence of group A streptococci to epithelial cells in tissue culture.
abstract: Using the HEp-2 cell line system the factors and mechanisms of group A Streptococcus adherence had been studied. It was shown that high adherence was chiefly found in strains showing attributes of virulence (presence of M protein, growth in human blood, lethality for mice). The data supplied by experiments with pepsin and LTA suggest that there exist at least two mechanisms of adherence.
mesh_terms: D000268:Adhesiveness; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D002460:Cell Line; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D013045:Species Specificity; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D014774:Virulence