Flagellin enhances innate immune responses in human airway epithelium during bacterial infection
Li, X., Sachet, L., Cayet, D., Zeroual, Y., Sanjuán-García, M. I., Bonnefond, A., Derhourhi, M., Caul-Futy, M., Caul-Futy, C., van der Poll, T., Carnoy, C., Baldry, M., Constant, S., & Sirard, J.-C. (2026). Flagellin enhances innate immune responses in human airway epithelium during bacterial infection. Infection and immunity, e0024526. Advance online publication. doi.org/10.1128/iai.00245-26
Bacterial pneumonia poses a significant challenge to public health, often leading to antibiotic treatment failure. Enhancing innate immunity represents a promising adjunctive strategy to conventional antibiotic therapy. Bacterial flagellin, a Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) agonist, has been shown to stimulate innate immune defenses when delivered via the respiratory route, demonstrating efficacy in both preventing and treating bacterial pneumonia in murine models.
