STING1 and pneumococcal infection: However, pneumococcal infection-induced proinflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1β, are largely intact in the STING−/− mice, and the bacterial burden in the lung, spleen, and blood were comparable between STING−/− and wild-type (WT) mice (6).