This hypothesis is supported by an elegant series of experiments where the transcriptome of the E. coli NC101 strain was analyzed 2, 12, and 20 weeks after mono-colonization of three germ-free mouse models: IL-10−/− (inflammation), AOM/IL-10−/− (CRC and inflammation); and AOM/IL-10−/−; Rag2−/− (no inflammation, no CRC, baseline reference) [74]. Here, IL10 is linked to infectious otitis media.