To further validate the regulatory role of p65 phosphorylation (p‐p65) toward potential target genes, we utilized the NF‐κB inhibitor [pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC)] to treat the A549 cells during S. pneumoniae infection and found that the level of p‐p65 was obviously decreased at any infection time with PDTC treatment than without treatment (Figure 4e). Here, NFKB1 is linked to infection.