A method of treating or preventing the inflammatory response of colitis in a subject comprising administering to the subject an effective amount of a substance that modulates IL-13 activity. The invention also provides a method of treating or preventing the inflammatory response of colitis in a subject comprising administering to the subject an effective amount of a substance that modulates NK-T cell activity. The invention also provides for the screening of substances that treat or prevent the inflammatory response of colitis.The substance can be an anti-Vα14Jα281 antibody fragment, an anti-Vα24Jα18 antibody fragment, an anti-CD1 antibody fragment that inhibits antigen-presentation to NK-T cells or an anti-IL-13 or an anti-IL-13Rα antibody fragment that inhibits IL-13 activity.
