The nature and role of the intestinal leukocytes in necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a severe disease affecting premature infants, remain unknown. We now show that the intestine in mouse and human NEC is rich in lymphocytes that are required for NEC development, as recombination activating gene 1–deficient (
Charlotte E. Egan, Chhinder P. Sodhi, Misty Good, Joyce Lin, Hongpeng Jia, Yukihiro Yamaguchi, Peng Lu, Congrong Ma, Maria F. Branca, Samantha Weyandt, William B. Fulton, Diego F. Niño, Thomas Prindle Jr., John A. Ozolek, David J. Hackam
TLR4-dependent release of IL-17 during NEC causes intestinal mucosal injury.