Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC) infection in the human female reproductive tract causes various clinical outcomes, from no symptom to severe complications. The major barrier to a better understanding of GC infection in women is the lack of experimental system closely mimicking in vivo infection. Here, I developed a human cervical tissue explant model, which maintains the heterogeneity of the cervical epithelium. Using this model, my thesis research examined the impact of the heterogeneity of the cervical epithelium and the phase variation of GC surface structures on GC infectivity. My research revealed that GC preferentially colonize the ectocervix and the transformation zone (TZ), but exclusively penetrate into the subepithelial tissues of the TZ and endocervix. Pili are essential for GC colonization in all regions of the cervix. Expression of Opa isoforms that bind to the host receptors CEACAM (OpaCEA) enhances GC colonization in the ecto/endocervix but inhibits GC penetration into the endocervix. However, GC infectivity in the TZ does not respond to Opa phase variation, due to the low expression level and intracellular location of CEACAMs in the TZ epithelial cells. OpaCEA enhances GC colonization in the ecto/endocervix by inhibiting epithelial exfoliation and suppresses GC penetration into the endocervical subepithelium by inhibiting GC-induced disassembly of the apical junction. Opa-mediated modulation of GC infectivity depends on the immune receptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM) of CEACAM1 and its downstream phosphatase SHP. The effect of epithelial cell polarity on GC invasion was studied using a cell line model. My results show that GC invade more efficiently into non-polarized than polarized epithelial cells without changing the adhesion efficiency. Opa (phase variable) expression enhances both adhesion and invasion in both non-polarized and polarized cells. In non-polarized cells, Opa expression induces F-actin accumulation and microvilli elongation underneath GC microcolonies, suggesting an actin-mediated uptake of GC. In contrast, GC expressing no Opa reduce F-actin and demolish microvilli underneath microcolonies in both polarized epithelial cell line and endocervical epithelial cells potentially by increasing calcium flux, NMII activation and the redistribution of actin nucleation factor Arp2/3 from the apical surface. Taking together, my research demonstrates that both the heterogeneity of the cervical epithelium and the phase variation of bacterial surface structures regulate GC infectivity in the human cervix, either dominated by colonization or penetration, consequently influencing the clinical outcomes of the infection.