Barrier surfaces of multicellular organisms are in constant contact with the environment and infractions to the integrity of epithelial surfaces is likely a frequent event. Interestingly, components of the immune system, that can be activated by environmental compounds such as the microbiota or nutrients, are interspersed among epithelial cells or directly underlie the epithelium. It is now appreciated that immune cells continuously receive and integrate signals from the environment. Curiously, such continuous reception of stimulation does not normally trigger an inflammatory response but mediators produced by immune cells in response to such signals seem to rather promote barrier integrity and repair. The molecular mediators involved in this process are poorly understood. In recent years, the cytokine interleukin-22, produced mainly by group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), has been studied as a paradigm for how immune cells can control various aspects of epithelial cell function because expression of its receptor is restricted to non-hematopoietic cells. We will summarize here the diverse roles of IL-22 for the malignant transformation of epithelial cells, for tumor growth, wound healing and tissue repair. Furthermore, we will discuss IL-22 as a potential therapeutic target.
Keywords:Aryl hydrocarbon receptor r Cancer r IL-22 r Innate lymphoid cells r RORγt
IntroductionBarrier organs like the skin, the gut and lung mucosae are in constant contact with the environment. Their cellular components need to adapt to the continuous and ever changing presence of a large number of microbes (i.e., bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites collectively referred to as the "microbiome") and their metabolites, including toxins. In addition, the epithelial barrier of the intestine is also subjected to food components, some of which are toxic by being poisonous, noxious or irritating. The skin barrier is exposed to UV irradiation, which is beneficial (e.g., conversion of Vitamin D) but can also be harmful (e.g., direct and Correspondence: Dr. Andreas Diefenbach e-mail: andreas.diefenbach@charite.de indirect DNA damage). Thus, barrier surfaces with the environment are sites where adaptive processes are initiated. Over millions of years of co-evolution of multicellular organisms with their habitat, adaptive signaling networks have been selected that are believed to shield the organism against such continuous threats and, thereby, shape their fitness. A well-studied example of such adaptive processes is microbiota-host relationships [1]. Through contact with microbial communities, epithelial function is being modified as to minimize damage to the barrier. For example, epithelial cells directly receive signals from the microbiota leading to the production of anti-bacterial proteins and to the protection of epithelial cells against TNF-triggered apoptosis [2][3][4]. * These authors contributed equally to this work.C 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.eji-journal.eu
16Pedro Hernandez et al. Eur. J. Immunol. 2018. 48: ...