Abstract
IL-22 is a recently described cytokine showing 23% amino acid identity with IL-10, and which has been previously shown to induce the production of acute phase proteins in liver and pancreas, suggesting a role in inflammatory responses. This patent application claims agents that modulate IL-22 activity useful as modulators of a large panel of inflammatory disorders, including autoimmune diseases, cancer and sepsis. More particularly, anti-IL-22 antibodies are reported to inhibit arthritis in a mouse model.