Interleukin (IL)-10 is an essential anti-inflammatory cytokine and functions as a negative regulator of immune responses to microbial antigens. IL-10 is particularly important in maintaining the intestinal microbe-immune homeostasis. Loss of IL-10 promotes the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as a consequence of an excessive immune response to the gut microbiota. IL-10 also functions more generally to prevent excessive inflammation during the course of infection. Although IL-10 can be produced by virtually all cells of the innate and adaptive immune system, T cells constitute a non-redundant source for IL-10 in many cases. The various roles of T cell-derived IL-10 will be discussed in this review.

Given that IL-10 is at the center of maintaining the delicate balance between effective immunity and tissue protection, it is not surprising that IL-10 expression is highly dynamic and tightly regulated. We summarize the environmental signals and molecular pathways that regulate IL-10 expression. While numerous studies have provided us with a deep understanding of IL-10 biology, the majority of findings have been made in murine models, prompting us to highlight gaps in our knowledge about T cell-derived IL-10 in the human system.

白介素（IL）-10是一种必不可少的抗炎细胞因子，可作为对微生物抗原免疫反应的负调节剂。IL-10在维持肠道微生物免疫稳态方面尤其重要。由于对肠道菌群的过度免疫反应，IL-10的丧失促进了炎症性肠病（IBD）的发展。IL-10还可以更普遍地发挥作用，以防止在感染过程中过度发炎。尽管实际上先天性和适应性免疫系统的所有细胞均可产生IL-10，但在许多情况下，T细胞构成IL-10的非冗余来源。本文将讨论T细胞来源的IL-10的各种作用。

鉴于IL-10处于维持有效免疫力与组织保护之间微妙平衡的中心，因此IL-10的表达高度动态且受到严格调节也就不足为奇了。我们总结了调节IL-10表达的环境信号和分子途径。尽管大量研究为我们提供了对IL-10生物学的深刻理解，但大多数发现已在鼠模型中进行，促使我们强调我们在人类系统中对T细胞来源的IL-10的认识方面的差距。