Fig. 3
Adherence of pneumococcal serotypes 6A (a) and 19F (b) to pharyngeal epithelial cells following pre-administration of megaplasmid positive (K12) and negative (K12 mp−) S. salivarius K12 strains. Approximately 1.5 × 106 CFU pneumococci were added to D562 monolayers at an MOI of 10:1. Pneumococcal adherence was determined when incubated with pneumococci alone (Pnc, normalised to 100 %), or pre-incubated for 1 h with S. salivarius K12 or S. salivarius K12mp - at high (~2 × 107 CFU); medium (~2 × 106 CFU, med); or low (~2 × 105 CFU) doses. Data are mean + SD; n ≥ 6. * indicates p < 0.05, ** indicates p < 0.001 when compared to Pnc alone (Student’s t test)