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pubmed:abstractText |
The surface hydrophobicity of Klebsiella aerogenes is influenced by the presence of capsular (K) and lipopolysaccharide (O) antigens. Loss of both K and O antigens (K-O-), but not the K antigen alone (K-O+), increased surface hydrophobicity and susceptibility to phagocytosis. Unheated serum (i.e., containing complement) increased the surface hydrophobicity and phagocytosis of the K-O+ and K-O- strains, but not of the K+O+ encapsulated parent strain. Despite the altered susceptibility to phagocytosis caused by the presence or absence of the K and O antigens, their loss did not influence sensitivity to a range of hydrophilic, hydrophobic or cationic antimicrobial agents.
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