In this study we discovered a previously unknown collaboration between IL-21 and IFN-γ inducing interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), in the course of studies on the role of the IL-21/IL-21R signaling pathway in resistance to and clearance of infection with a minimally-invasive murine intestinal pathogen C. rodentium. Deficiency in this pathway leads to attenuated inflammation in the colon following infection with this pathogen and impaired clearance of the pathogen. This evidence concerns the gene STING1 and infection.