Haemagglutinating and buccal epithelial cell adherence activities of Vibrio parahaemolyticus: correlation with virulence.

Clinical and environmental isolates of Vibrio parahaemolyticus were examined for their ability to agglutinate human and rabbit erythrocyte and to adhere to human buccal epithelial (HBE) cells in the presence or absence of mannose. All strains produced cell-associated haemagglutinins (HGs) after 3 h at 37 degrees C. Mannose-sensitive haemagglutination (MSHA) appeared to be a significant marker for differentiating between clinical and environmental isolates; 75% of clinical and 11% of environmental isolates exhibited MSHA with rabbit erythrocytes. All strains showed mannose-resistant adhesion (MRA) to HBE cells whose pattern had no relationship to the epidemiological source of the isolates. Adherence to HBE cells correlated with haemagglutination (HA) capability of environmental but not clinical isolates. This suggests that although intestinal adherence may be an essential step in vibrio colonization, it may not be a sufficient prerequisite for the subsequent expression of pathogenicity in Vibrio parahaemolyticus.