IL6 and pneumococcal infection: In fact, it has been demonstrated that IL-6 is involved in resistance to Streptococcus pneumoniae infection in a mouse model and the knockout of the IL-6 gene, inducing an increase in the levels of pro-inflammatory (TNFα, IL-1β, IFN-γ) and ant-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines [51], resulted in the mouse’s premature death.