Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 1735-1502 14 3 2015 10 18 246 254 EN Gholamreza Azizi Imam Hassan Mojtaba Hospital, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran Anita Simhag Karolinska Institutet Science Park AB, Huddinge, Sweden Nadia M-M-El Rouby Department of Histology, Dubai Medical College, Dubai, UAE Abbas Mirshafiey Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2015 10 18 2015 10 18 Newly  identified  T  helper  cell  22  (Th22)  is  a  subset  of  CD4+T  cells  with  specific properties apart from other known CD4+ T cell subsets with distinguished gene expression and function. Th22 cells are characterized by production of a distinct profile of effector cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-22, IL-13, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). The levels of Th22 and related cytokine IL-22 are increased in various autoimmune diseases and positively associated with some rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, behcet's disease, ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis. In summary, IL-22 and Th22 cells play a significant and complicated role in inflammatory and autoimmune  rheumatic  diseases,  therefore,  targeting  IL-22  or  Th22  have  unique  and attractive advantages due to the fact that Th22 subset is recently identified and its associated research is extremely limited. This review discusses the role of Th22 and its cytokine IL-22 in the immunopathogenesis of rheumatic disease. https://ijaai.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijaai/article/view/564 https://ijaai.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijaai/article/download/564/449