IFNG and colitis: The foregoing results indicate the occurrence of a significant decrease in splenic, lymph node and thymus IFN-γ production in severely calorie-restricted rats, thus agreeing with observations indicating that, in autoimmune-prone mice, calorie restriction lowers mRNA expression of this cytokine [29], and that in young mice with experimental colitis, caloric restriction augments NK cytotoxicity and decreases IFN-γ levels [21].