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. 1988 Aug;56(8):1890–1896. doi: 10.1128/iai.56.8.1890-1896.1988

Ultrastructural localization of capsules, cell wall polysaccharide, cell wall proteins, and F antigen in pneumococci.

U B Skov Sørensen 1, J Blom 1, A Birch-Andersen 1, J Henrichsen 1
PMCID: PMC259497  PMID: 3397179

Abstract

The localization of pneumococcal capsular and cell wall antigens was examined by immunoelectron microscopy. C polysaccharide (C-Ps), a common component of all pneumococci, was uniformly distributed on both the inside and outside of the cell walls. The thickness of the C-Ps varied with the strain. Encapsulated strains were covered by varied amounts of capsular polysaccharide concealing the C-Ps of the bacteria so as to render it inaccessible to anti-C-Ps antibodies. In addition to C-Ps, protein antigens were demonstrable on the surface of nonencapsulated pneumococci. The proteins were not masked by the C-Ps layer. An extra layer on the cell walls was conspicuous on electron micrographs of both rough and encapsulated pneumococci. The nature of this extra layer has not been disclosed. F antigen, another common antigen of pneumococci, was uniformly distributed on the surface of the plasma membranes. During the course of the experimental work a reproducible method of gold labeling immunoglobulins was developed.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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