Given that the elevated IL-22 expression observed in human IBD may play a protective role in mitigating IBD pathology [60, 61], a clinical trial is currently underway in moderate-to-severe UC and CD patients in which an IL-22-Fc fusion protein (UTTR1147A), which acts as an agonist for IL-22R (NCT03558152), is used. Here, IL22 is linked to inflammatory bowel disease.