Interleukin 22
| Gene Ontology | |
|---|---|
| Molecular function | • cytokine activity • interleukin-22 receptor binding |
| Cellular component | • extracellular region • extracellular space |
| Biological process | • acute-phase response • inflammatory response • cell-cell signaling |
| Sources: Amigo / QuickGO | |
68.64 – 68.65 Mb
118.2 – 118.21 Mb
Interleukin-22 (IL-22) is protein that in humans is encoded by the IL22 gene.
IL-22 a member of a group of cytokines called the IL-10 family or IL-10 superfamily (including IL-19, IL-20, IL-24, and IL-26), a class of potent mediators of cellular inflammatory responses. It shares use of IL-10R2 in cell signaling with other members of this family, IL-10, IL-26, IL-28A/B and IL-29. IL-22 is produced by activated DC and T cells and initiates innate immune responses against bacterial pathogens especially in epithelial cells such as respiratory and gut epithelial cells. IL-22 along with IL-17 is rapidly produced by splenic LTi-like cells and can be also produced by Th17 cells and likely plays a role in the coordinated response of both adaptive and innate immune systems.
IL-22 biological activity is initiated by binding to a cell-surface complex composed of IL-22R1 and IL-10R2 receptor chains and further regulated by interactions with a soluble binding protein, IL-22BP, which shares sequence similarity with an extracellular region of IL-22R1 (sIL-22R1). IL-22 and IL-10 receptor chains play a role in cellular targeting and signal transduction to selectively initiate and regulate immune responses. IL-22 can contribute to immune disease through the stimulation of inflammatory responses, S100s and defensins. IL-22 also promotes hepatocyte survival in the liver and epithelial cells in the lung and gut similar to IL-10. In some contexts, the pro-inflammatory versus tissue-protective functions of IL-22 are regulated by the often co-expressed cytokine IL-17A
Read more about Interleukin 22: Signaling, Structure