Gonorrhoeae: The Immune System

The genetic makeup of the bacteria, N. gonorrhoeae, allows it to invade its hosts immune response (Lemire). N. gonorrhoeae can produce variations in its genetic makeup, through its ability to rearrange its surface level proteins, including Opa proteins that are responsible for the binding of the bacteria to epithelial cells and any other cells they may target (Lemire). In a way, the N. gonorrhoeae trick the immune system, through its ability to reconfigure its own genetic layout, which allows it to advance past the immune system’s defense undetected, because it does not identify it in its true form. The Opa cells have the ability to bind to the carcinoembryonic antigen-related cellular adhesion molecule 1 (CAECAM1), which is a receptor located