Disease-Attenuated Pneumococcal Biosynthesis Gene Mutants Invade the Mucosal Epithelium and Induce Innate Immunity

These findings suggest that differences in microinvasion and epithelial responses were driven by the differential expression of multiple bacterial virulence and metabolic pathways. These data highlight the complex impact of single gene mutations on bacterial virulence and suggest that the virulence determinants of pneumococcal epithelial colonization, microinvasion, and innate immunity are not necessarily directly linked to disease.