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GeneE
25 sources retrieved · Most recent: April 2026 · Index updated 14 days ago
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IL22
interleukin 22
Chromosome 12 · 12q15
NCBI Gene: 50616Ensembl: ENSG00000127318.11HGNC: HGNC:14900UniProt: A0A7R8C389
421PubMed Papers
20Diseases
1Drugs
0Pathogenic Variants
FUNCTIONAL ROLE
Hub Gene
RESEARCH IMPACT
Highly StudiedTrending
CLINICAL
Clinical Trials
DATA QUALITY
✓ Experimental GO Evidence✓ Swiss-Prot Reviewed
GO:0005615protein bindingcytokine activitynegative regulation of inflammatory responseatopic eczemaEczematoid dermatitiscancerdermatitis
✦AI Summary

IL22 is a cytokine that plays a critical role in modulating tissue responses during inflammation and maintaining epithelial barrier function 1. Unlike most cytokines, IL22 does not directly affect immune cells but signals through a heterodimeric receptor composed of IL22RA1 and IL10RB on non-immune cells 23. Ligand binding activates JAK1/TYK2 and STAT3, promoting cell survival and proliferation through STAT3, ERK1/2, and PI3K/AKT pathways 45. IL22 is essential for intestinal immunity and tissue repair. It is required for Paneth cell formation and induces expression of antimicrobial peptides and host defense genes in multiple intestinal cell types 6. IL22 production by CD4+ T cells and innate lymphoid cells is promoted by microbiota-derived short-chain fatty acids through GPR41 and HDAC inhibition, maintaining intestinal homeostasis 7. In intestinal epithelial cells, IL22 signaling in MATH1+ goblet and progenitor cells promotes mucin O-glycosylation and is essential for barrier maintenance and tissue regeneration during colitis 8. Clinically, IL22 dysregulation is implicated in inflammatory bowel disease, where loss-of-function IL10RB mutations abolish Paneth cell formation 6. Additionally, IL22 has emerged as a protective factor against stress-induced anxiety through direct suppression of septal neuron activation 9, and reduced IL22 levels are observed in clinical depression 9.

Sources cited
1
IL22 plays a critical role in modulating tissue responses during inflammation and maintaining epithelial barrier function
PMID: 17204547
2
IL22 signals through heterodimeric receptor with IL22RA1 and IL10RB on non-immune cells
PMID: 10875937
3
IL22 receptor composition and signaling on non-immune cells
PMID: 18599299
4
IL22 promotes cell survival and proliferation through STAT3, ERK1/2, and PI3K/AKT pathways
PMID: 25793261
5
IL22 signaling activates STAT3 and downstream survival/proliferation pathways
PMID: 31311100
6
IL22 is required for Paneth cell formation and induces antimicrobial peptide expression in intestinal epithelial cells; IL10RB mutations abolish Paneth cells in IBD
PMID: 36002022
7
Microbiota-derived short-chain fatty acids promote IL22 production by CD4+ T cells and ILCs to maintain intestinal homeostasis
PMID: 32901017
8
IL22 signaling in MATH1+ progenitor cells promotes mucin O-glycosylation and is essential for barrier maintenance and tissue regeneration during colitis
PMID: 38733584
9
IL22 suppresses septal neuron activation to ameliorate stress-induced anxiety; reduced in clinical depression
PMID: 39644894
Disease Associationsⓘ20
atopic eczemaOpen Targets
0.56Moderate
Eczematoid dermatitisOpen Targets
0.44Moderate
cancerOpen Targets
0.39Weak
dermatitisOpen Targets
0.36Weak
DNA methylationOpen Targets
0.31Weak
familial hemolytic anemiaOpen Targets
0.29Weak
Abnormality of the skeletal systemOpen Targets
0.14Weak
rheumatoid arthritisOpen Targets
0.13Weak
psoriasisOpen Targets
0.12Weak
infectionOpen Targets
0.12Weak
ulcerative colitisOpen Targets
0.11Weak
hepatocellular carcinomaOpen Targets
0.11Weak
neoplasmOpen Targets
0.11Weak
type 2 diabetes mellitusOpen Targets
0.11Weak
breast cancerOpen Targets
0.11Weak
colitisOpen Targets
0.11Weak
polycystic ovary syndromeOpen Targets
0.11Weak
psoriatic arthritisOpen Targets
0.11Weak
colorectal carcinomaOpen Targets
0.10Weak
Alzheimer diseaseOpen Targets
0.10Weak
Pathogenic Variants
No pathogenic variants reported on ClinVar for this gene.
View on ClinVar ↗
Drug Targets1
FEZAKINUMABPhase II
Interleukin-22 inhibitor
psoriasis vulgaris
Related Genes
IFNGProtein interaction99%FOXP3Protein interaction98%IL2Protein interaction98%IL4Protein interaction97%TNFProtein interaction97%IL6Protein interaction97%
Tissue Expression6 tissues
Lung
0%
Brain
0%
Bone Marrow
0%
Heart
0%
Ovary
0%
Liver
0%
Gene Interaction Network
Click a node to explore
IL22IFNGFOXP3IL2IL4TNFIL6
PROTEIN STRUCTURE
Preparing viewer…
PDB3DLQ · 1.90 Å · X-ray
View on RCSB ↗
Constraintⓘ
LOEUFⓘ
1.53LoF Tolerant
pLIⓘ
0.00Tolerant
Observed/Expected LoF0.95 [0.61–1.53]
RankingsWhere IL22 stands among ~20K protein-coding genes
  • #674of 20,598
    Most Researched421 · top 5%
  • #15,335of 17,882
    Most Constrained (LOEUF)1.53
Genes detectedIL22
Sources retrieved25 papers
Response time—
📄 Sources
25▼
1
IL-10 Family Cytokines IL-10 and IL-22: from Basic Science to Clinical Translation.
PMID: 30995504
Immunity · 2019
1.00
2
Optimized human intestinal organoid model reveals interleukin-22-dependency of paneth cell formation.
PMID: 36002022
Cell Stem Cell · 2022
0.90
3
Intestinal microbiota-derived short-chain fatty acids regulation of immune cell IL-22 production and gut immunity.
PMID: 32901017
Nat Commun · 2020
0.80
4
Interferon subverts an AHR-JUN axis to promote CXCL13
PMID: 38987586
Nature · 2024
0.70
5
Rehydration rescues Il22
PMID: 41361166
Nat Commun · 2025
0.60