Streptococcus pneumoniae adhesion to mouse tracheal explants and its inhibition by carbohydrate preparations]

The method for the cultivation of tracheal explants of non-inbred mice was developed. The adhesive capacity of 34 S. pneumoniae strains belonging to 15 serotypes was studied. The geometric mean of S. pneumoniae concentrations attached to the organ culture was 8.93 x 10(4) CFU/ml. D-galactose blocked adhesion, on the average, 4.35 x 10(4) (95.5%) CFU/ml. The level of S. pneumoniae adhesion and the degree of its inhibition were dose- and strain-dependent. The use of different variants of the combination of D-galactose and S. pneumoniae made it possible to come to the conclusion that this monosaccharide blocked the receptors of epithelial cells and bacterial adhesins.