Serological Reactivity of Mucoid Strains of Escherichia Coli

Abstract

Two mucoid, inagglutinable strains of Escherichia coli were found to be almost as reactive as the capsule-free forms in respect of their capacity to bind complement and to absorb antibody. A study by means of titrations of agglutinins and complement fixing antibodies, and by quantitative agglutinin determinations, showed that the inagglutinability of these two strains must be due to inhibition of aggregate formation and not to reduced combining power.