Early growth response 1 (Egr-1), also known as NGFI-A, Krox24, Tis8, Zif268, and ZENK, is a zinc-finger transcription factor that is rapidly and transiently induced by a broad range of extracellular stimuli, including bacterial infections, growth factors, cytokines, stresses, and injury (Dieckgraefe and Weems, 1999; Jones and Agani, 2003; Hoffmann et al., 2008; de Klerk et al., 2017). Here, EGR1 is linked to bacterial infectious disease.