In this recent Immunity paper, researchers wanted to know whether host immune response can mediate pathogen colonization resistance through regulation of the gut microbiota. In mice deficient in ID2 (a transcriptional regulator necessary in the development of innate lymphoid cell progenitors), researchers observed that gut colonization resistance against Citrobacter rodentium was significantly impaired. They found that ID2 is essential for mediating colonization resistance, with interleukin-22 from ILC3s controlling resistance by regulating the gut microbiota.

Guo X, et al. (2015) Innate Lymphoid Cells Control Early Colonization Resistance against Intestinal Pathogens through ID2-Dependent Regulation of the Microbiota. Immunity DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2015.03.012