Strikingly, while infection with MDR-Kpneu alone did not impact the expression of these genes, meropenem treatment of MDR-Kpneu-infected HBE cells increased DEFB4A, PI3, S100A8, and S100A9 expression to a similar level as flagellin alone, and this was not further increased by simultaneous flagellin exposure. This evidence concerns the gene DEFB4A and infection.