In contrast, following AOM treatment, the expression levels of many genes related to pro-inflammatory or Th17-related cytokines (e. g. Il1b, Il6, Tnfa, Ifng, Il17a, Il22 and Il23), lipid mediators (e. g. Ptgs2 and Ptges), immune cells (e. g. Emr1 and Tbx21), epithelial defense (e. g. Reg3g, S100a8, S100a9 and Defa3), and adherence junctions (e. g. Dsg4, Cdh13 and Cldn4) were reduced in the Pla2g3−/− colon relative to the Pla2g3+/+ colon (Fig. 2e), implying that sPLA2-III deficiency protects mice from tumor-associated inflammation and homeostatic perturbation in the colon. The gene discussed is CLDN4; the disease is infectious otitis media.