 Pili are varied by antigenic variation, but also phase variation.Frameshifts occur in both the "pilE" and "pilC" genes, effectively turning off the expression of pili in situations when they are not needed, such as after colonization when "N. gonorrhoeae" survives within cells as opposed to on their surfaces.After gonococci invade and transcytose the host epithelial cells, they land in the submucosa, where neutrophils promptly consume them.