KIT and pneumococcal meningitis: To provide some insight into the role of mast cells in bacterial CNS infections, here we assessed the phenotype of two different mast cell-deficient Kit mutant mouse strains and also the treatment effect of the so-called “mast cell stabilizer” cromoglycate in a well-established mouse model of pneumococcal meningitis (which represents a common and serious form of bacterial CNS infection).