Cigarette Smoke Attenuates the Nasal Host Response to Streptococcus pneumoniae and Predisposes to Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in Mice

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of invasive bacterial infections, with nasal colonization an important first step in disease. While cigarette smoking is a strong risk factor for invasive pneumococcal disease, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. This is partly due to a lack of clinically relevant animal models investigating nasal pneumococcal colonization in the context of cigarette smoke exposure. We present a model of nasal …