STAT3 and colitis: The IL-10 cytokine family has been shown to facilitate the gut antimicrobial defense and promote mucosal barrier integrity and repair by activating STAT3 (Shouval et al., 2014), while IL-17, TNF-α, and IFN-γ induce colitis by disrupting the mucosal barrier function of the immune system (Leppkes et al., 2009; Friedrich et al., 2019).