Compatibly, T cells, in this study, were confirmed to be involved in the development of septic peritonitis in mice by the evidence that (1) the IL-17 expression was increased in the CD3+ cells of the PLCs from the mice infected with E. coli and (2) IL-17 mRNA levels were significantly increased in the sorted CD3+ cells in the PLCs from the mice infected with E. coli. This evidence concerns the gene IL17A and peritonitis.