Cytokines are among the most important effector and messenger molecules in the immune system. They profoundly participate in immune responses during infection and inflammation, protecting against or contributing to diseases such as allergy, autoimmunity, and cancer. Manipulating cytokine pathways, therefore, is one of the most effective strategies to treat various diseases. IL-10 family cytokines exert essential functions to maintain tissue homeostasis during infection and inflammation through restriction of excessive inflammatory responses, upregulation of innate immunity, and promotion of tissue repairing mechanisms. Their important functions in diseases are supported by data from many preclinical models, human genetic studies, and clinical interventions. Despite significant efforts, however, there is still no clinically approved therapy through manipulating IL-10 family cytokines. Here, we summarize the recent progress in understanding the biology of this family of cytokines, suggesting more specific strategies to maneuver these cytokines for the effective treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancers.

细胞因子是免疫系统中最重要的效应子和信使分子之一。它们在感染和炎症过程中深刻参与免疫反应，从而预防或促成过敏，自身免疫和癌症等疾病。因此，操纵细胞因子途径是治疗各种疾病的最有效策略之一。IL-10家族细胞因子通过限制过度的炎症反应，上调先天免疫力和促进组织修复机制，发挥基本功能，在感染和炎症过程中维持组织稳态。它们在疾病中的重要功能得到了许多临床前模型，人类基因研究和临床干预措施的支持。尽管付出了巨大的努力，还没有通过操纵IL-10家族细胞因子的临床批准的疗法。在这里，我们总结了了解该细胞因子家族生物学的最新进展，并提出了更具体的策略来操纵这些细胞因子以有效治疗炎性疾病和癌症。