A recent study by Yoshioka et al. 20 reported that ceftriaxone and azithromycin combination therapy in a mouse model of lethal pneumococcal pneumonia significantly improved the prognosis and suppressed the expressions of CTLA-4 and PD-1 in T helper and T regulatory cells; they suggested that the survival benefits of ceftriaxone and azithromycin combination therapy may be through modulation of immune checkpoints. The gene discussed is CTLA4; the disease is pneumococcal pneumonia.