Invasion of the cultured epithelial cell lines HeLa, Henle-407, and Caco-2 (polarized and nonpolarized) by Salmonella typhi and Salmonella typhimurium were compared using conventional gentamicin invasion assays. Additionally, the mechanisms of invasion and intracellular trafficking by S. typhi and S. typhimurium were compared in HeLa cells using indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. S. typhi strain Ty2 was invasive in all human cell lines tested, including apical uptake into polarized Caco-2 cell monolayers. This strain also replicated at levels similar to S. typhimurium strain SL1344 inside HeLa and Henle-407 cells. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy confirmed that S. typhi, like S. typhimurium, induced membrane ruffles and cytoskeletal rearrangements upon contact with HeLa cell surfaces. Ruffling induced by S. typhi and S. typhimurium was accompanied by macropinocytosis of the fluid phase endocytic marker fluorescein-dextran-sulphate and by aggregation of cell surface class I MHC heavy chain. Intracellular lysosomal trafficking of S. typhi and S. typhimurium in HeLa cells was also studied. The lysosomal membrane glycoprotein marker h-lamp-2 colocalized with S. typhi-containing vacuoles, as previously shown for S. typhimurium. The soluble lysosomal enzyme marker cathepsin D also was found within S. typhi-containing vacuoles to the same extent as previously published for S. typhimurium. The results from this study suggest that S. typhi and S. typhimurium use similar mechanisms for invasion and intracellular trafficking in cultured human epithelial cells.