Streptococcus pneumoniae strain 6301

Streptococcus pneumoniae strain #6301 (ATCC, Manassas, VA) was grown for 16 h to obtain mid‐log phase cultures on blood agar plates (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Lenexa, KS). Mice were infected with 1 × 10⁵ colony‐forming units (CFUs) (LD₅₀) of S. pneumoniae strain #6301 (ATCC, Manassas, VA) by intranasal route in a volume of 40 μL of brain–heart infusion broth (EMD Chemicals, Inc., Gibbtown, NJ) or broth (e.g., sham infection) after anesthesia (100–150 μL ketamine/xylazine intraperitoneally).
Human corticotropin‐releasing hormone, antalarmin, and dexamethasone were from Sigma‐Aldrich, St. Louis, MO. Optimal doses of CRH (1 mg/kg), antalarmin (1 mg/kg), and dexamethasone (1 mg/kg) were administered by intranasal route based on previous published results (Kim et al. 2011).

Streptococcus pneumoniae strain #6301 (ATCC, Manassas, VA, USA) was used in all experiments. Prior to use, S. pneumoniae was maintained in 30% glycerol frozen stock solutions (–80^∘C).