Isolates of Neisseria meningitidis from Different Sites in the Same Patient: Phenotypic and Genomic Studies, with Special Reference to Adherence, Piliation, and DNA Restriction Endonuclease Pattern

the throat were significantly more piliated (P < .001) and adhered to human buccal epithelial cells in vitro in significantly higher numbers (P < .001) than did isolates from the blood and the cerebrospinal fluid of the same patient. These results indicate that phase shift occurs in N. meningitidis in vivo.