The barrier surfaces of the gastrointestinal tract are in constant contact with various microorganisms. Cytokines orchestrate the mucosal adaptive and innate immune cells in the defense against pathogens. IL-10 and IL-22 are the best studied members of the IL-10 family and play essential roles in maintaining mucosal homeostasis. IL-10 serves as an important regulator in preventing pro-inflammatory responses while IL-22 plays a protective role in tissue damage and contributes to pathology in certain settings. In this review, we focus on these two cytokines in the development of gastrointestinal diseases, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and colitis-associated cancer (CAC). We summarize the recent studies and try to gain a better understanding on how they regulate immune responses to maintain equilibrium under inflammatory conditions.

胃肠道的屏障表面不断与各种微生物接触。细胞因子协调粘膜适应性和先天免疫细胞来防御病原体。 IL-10 和 IL-22 是 IL-10 家族中研究最充分的成员，在维持粘膜稳态中发挥着重要作用。 IL-10 是预防促炎症反应的重要调节剂，而 IL-22 在组织损伤中发挥保护作用，并在某些情况下促进病理学。在这篇综述中，我们重点关注这两种细胞因子在胃肠道疾病发展中的作用，包括炎症性肠病（IBD）和结肠炎相关癌症（CAC）。我们总结了最近的研究，并试图更好地了解它们如何调节免疫反应以在炎症条件下保持平衡。