Interleukin 22 receptor 1 expression in pancreas islets

Interleukin (IL) 22 is a recently identified T-cell-derived cytokine. IL-22 binds at the cell surface to a heterodimer receptor complex composed of IL-22 receptor (R) 1 and IL-10R2. In this study, we performed immunohistochemical analyses for IL-22R1 expression in human pancreatic tissue.

Normal human pancreatic tissue (n = 8) was immunostained with antihuman IL-22R1 antibodies following standard immunohistochemical procedures.

In the normal human pancreas, IL-22R1 was expressed in the islets of Langerhans. IL-22R1 was not expressed by the acinar cells and ductal epithelium. Double-immunostaining experiments showed that the majority of insulin-expressing beta cells and glucagon-expressing alpha cells were immunopositive for IL-22R1.

The islets of Langerhans are the local site for IL-22R1 expression in the human pancreas. It may be that the T-cell-mediated immune response modulates cell islet function through IL-22 signaling.