Table 1.

Attachment of NGO variants to human FT explant epithelium. FT explants were infected with Pil⁻Opa⁻ NGO (n = 7) and Pil⁺Opa⁻(n = 6), and 16 fields were examined for each explant at each time point. In each field, gonococci were counted within a continuous epithelial strip of at least 150 cells. The data are presented as the mean and SEM of the number of gonococci observed, attached, or internalized. *denotes a significantly (P < 0.05) higher number of attached Pil⁺Opa⁻ NGO compared to the Pil⁻Opa⁻ variant at 3 h.

Time (h)	Attached
	Pil−Opa−	Pil+Opa−
3	2.6 ± 0.6	7.6 ± 2.6*
6	4.1 ± 1.1	6.3 ± 1.4
12	4.2 ± 1.1	5.8 ± 1.3
24	6.8 ± 0.9	6.8 ± 2.0
	Internalised
	Pil−Opa−	Pil+Opa−
3	12.4 ± 1.6	18.0 ± 3.4
6	14.4 ± 1.9	16.8 ± 2.4
12	14.1 ± 1.8	15.0 ± 2.4
24	25.1 ± 1.9	18.3 ± 3.9