Strikingly, the absence of lymphocytes, as in Rag2 deficient (Rag2-/-) animals, already resulted in profoundly reduced liver damage upon bacterial infection of naïve, sensitive mice and fully abrogated further LPS-induced tissue protection without affecting the bacterial load (Figure 2A, Figure 2—figure supplement 1A and B). This evidence concerns the gene RAG2 and bacterial infectious disease.