Fig 4.
Adherence of C. diphtheriae to pharyngeal epithelial cells (D562). Epithelial cells were infected with corynebacteria at an MOI of 10, and adherent bacteria were then enumerated. Data are presented as percentages of adhesion relative to that of NCTC13129. The mean adhesion percentage of NCTC13129 to D562 cells was ∼18%. The results are presented as averages from at least three independent experiments performed in triplicate. Strain names and subgroups 1 to 7 without toxin (tox−) or with toxin (tox+) and having 0, 1, 2, or 3 types of pili (pili0, pili1, etc.) are indicated.