1887

Abstract

Exfoliated vaginal epithelial cells with attached bacteria, termed ‘clue cells’, which were procured from a patient with non-specific vaginitis, were stained with ruthenium red and examined by transmission electron microscopy. The attached bacteria appeared to adhere by means of an outer fibrillar coat. An epithelial tissue culture cell line (McCoy) and human red blood cells to which strains of attached were similarly examined. The adherence of to the epithelial cell line appeared to be mediated by an outer fibrillar coat while adherence to red cells appeared to be mediated by fimbriae. Transmission electron microscopy was performed on the strains used. Thin sections of tissue-culture-adherent strains revealed a dense outer fibrillar coat whereas the surface of the haemagglutinating strains showed fine fimbriae. Negative staining of haemagglutinating strains demonstrated fimbriae on a minority of organisms.

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/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-135-3-475
1989-03-01
2024-04-27
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