Interleukin-22: ein Zytokin der IL-10-Interferon-Familie

Interleukin(IL)-22 is a cytokine discovered in 2000 and belongs to the so-called IL-10-interferon family together with the long known interferons and IL-10 as well as the recently identified cytokines IL-19, IL-20, IL-24, IL- 26, IL-28-alpha/beta and IL-29. Despite the assignment to a common cytokine family based on structural similarities, the members differ with respect to their biological roles. While the biological role of interferons and IL-10 has been largely elucidated, relatively little is known about the more recently described members. The present work deals with the biological role of IL-22 and the soluble IL-22 receptor IL-22BP and, based on this, with their possible significance in the two common, currently incurable, chronic inflammatory diseases psoriasis and Crohn's disease.