The chick embryo in studies of virulence and immunity with Neisseria Gonorrhoeae.

Intravenous inoculation of 11-day old chick embryos with Neisseria gonorrhoeae has confirmed the original observation of Bumgarner and Finkelstein that T1 and T2 gonocci are significantly more virulent than T3 and T4. Pili do not seem to be solely responsible for this virulence, since elimination of pili did not effect either the viability or the virulence of N. gonorrhoeae. In neutralization studies, there was only one log difference between the ability of normal and hyperimmune rabbit serum to protect the embryo against gonoccocal infection. However, when mouse sera were used in the same chick embryo system a clear difference was noted between the protective activity of normal serum and that antisera elicited in mice by purified gonococcal antigens. It is suggested therefore that mouse antisera be used in this chick embryo model for the assay for gonococcal antigens.