CCR9 and colitis: As mdr1a−/− mice spontaneously develop a form of colitis that exhibits many of the hallmarks of human ulcerative colitis, such as marked lymphocyte infiltration into the lamina propria, elevation of inflammatory cytokines, and ulceration [27, 28], we chose this model to examine the therapeutic benefit of pharmacological CCR9 inhibition in the context of colonic inflammation.