However, a protective role of IL-22 has also been reported in IBD patients as reciprocal increase in Th17 and decrease in Th22 cell has been noted in inflamed colonic mucosa of patients due to increased levels of active TGFβ, which leads to loss of Th22 cells from the intestinal mucosa resulting in epithelial injury (132). Here, TGFB1 is linked to inflammatory bowel disease.