Article abstract

Nature Immunology 10, 864 - 871 (2009)
Published online: 5 July 2009 | Corrected online: 13 July 2009 | doi:10.1038/ni.1770

Identification of a human helper T cell population that has abundant production of interleukin 22 and is distinct from TH-17, TH1 and TH2 cells

Sara Trifari1,3, Charles D Kaplan1,3, Elise H Tran1,2, Natasha K Crellin1 & Hergen Spits1,2

Interleukin 22 (IL-22) is a member of the IL-10 cytokine family that is involved in inflammatory and wound healing processes. Originally considered a T helper type 1 (TH1)-associated cytokine, IL-22 has since been shown to be produced mainly by IL-17-producing helper T cells (TH-17 cells). Here we describe a previously uncharacterized IL-22-producing human helper T cell population that coexpressed the chemokine receptor CCR6 and the skin-homing receptors CCR4 and CCR10. These cells were distinct from both TH-17 cells and TH1 cells. Downregulation of either the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) or the transcription factor RORC by RNA-mediated interference affected IL-22 production, whereas IL-17 production was affected only by downregulation of RORC by RNA-mediated interference. AHR agonists substantially altered the balance of IL-22- versus IL-17-producing cells. This subset of IL-22-producing cells may be important in skin homeostasis and pathology.

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  1. Department of Immunology, Genentech, South San Francisco, California, USA.
  2. Present address: Anaphore, La Jolla, California, USA (E.H.T.) and Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands (H.S.).
  3. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Correspondence to: Hergen Spits1,2 e-mail: hergen.spits@amc.uva.nl

* NOTE: In the version of this article initially published online, the present address of the corresponding author, Hergen Spits, is not provided. The present address is Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands (hergen.spits@amc.uva.nl). The error has been corrected for the print, PDF and HTML versions of this article.

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