IL-26 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine belonging to the IL-10 family 1 that plays a critical role in mucosal immunity and tissue regulation. Structurally, IL-26 forms homo-dimers 2 and is produced primarily by Th17 cells, as well as other immune populations including CD8+ T cells and innate lymphoid cells 34. Mechanistically, IL-26 activates STAT1/STAT3 and MAPK signaling pathways, inducing expression of pro-inflammatory mediators including TNF and IL-8 while decreasing intestinal epithelial cell proliferation 5. Notably, IL-26 possesses direct antimicrobial activity and can activate pattern recognition receptors through DNA binding, a unique feature among Th17 cytokines 5. In disease contexts, elevated IL-26 expression characterizes inflammatory conditions including ulcerative colitis, atopic dermatitis, and gastric cancer, where it contributes to inflammatory immune responses 3678. Importantly, IL-26 appears to have dual roles—while promoting inflammation in chr12 settings, engineered IL-26 expression can attenuate acute colitis, suggesting context-dependent regulatory potential 3. Since IL-26 is uniquely expressed in humans and absent in rodents 5, it represents a promising therapeutic target for modulating both antimicrobial immunity and autoimmune inflammation.