Interleukin (IL)-22, a novel human cytokine that signals through the interferon receptor-related proteins CRF2-4 and IL-22R.

We report the identification of a novel human cytokine, distantly related to interleukin (IL)-10, which we term IL-22. IL-22 is produced by activated T cells. IL-22 is a ligand for CRF2-4, a member of the class II cytokine receptor family. No high affinity ligand has yet been reported for this receptor, although it has been reported to serve as a second component in IL-10 signaling. A new member of the interferon receptor family, which we term IL-22R, functions as a second component together with CRF2-4 to enable IL-22 signaling. IL-22 does not bind the IL-10R. Cell lines were identified that respond to IL-22 by activation of STATs 1, 3, and 5, but were unresponsive to IL-10. In contrast to IL-10, IL-22 does not inhibit the production of proinflammatory cytokines by monocytes in response to LPS nor does it impact IL-10 function on monocytes, but it has modest inhibitory effects on IL-4 production from Th2 T cells.