Th22 cells are an important source of IL-22 for host protection against enteropathogenic bacteria

Interleukin-22 (IL-22) is central to host protection against bacterial infections at barrier sites. Both innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) and T cells produce IL-22. However, the specific contributions of CD4(+) T cells and their developmental origins are unclear. We found that the enteric pathogen Citrobacter rodentium induced sequential waves of IL-22-producing ILCs and CD4(+) T cells that were each critical to host defense during a primary infection. Whereas IL-22 production by ILCs was strictly IL-23 dependent, development of IL-22-producing CD4(+) T cells occurred via an IL-6-dependent mechanism that was augmented by, but not dependent on, IL-23 and was dependent on both transcription factors T-bet and AhR. Transfer of CD4(+) T cells differentiated with IL-6 in the absence of TGF-β ("Th22" cells) conferred complete protection of infected IL-22-deficient mice whereas transferred Th17 cells did not. These findings establish Th22 cells as an important component of mucosal antimicrobial host defense.