The role of IL-10 in microbiome-associated immune modulation and disease tolerance

Current research on the microbiome of humans and other species is revealing a fundamental role for the interaction between the microbiota and the immune system in determining the health status of the host. In these studies, the cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) is emerging as an important player. We present here an overview of the developments in the field emphasizing how the microbiota composition and its interplay with immune cells affect the health of the host through changes in IL-10 production. In addition, we explore the function that IL-10-producing immune cells may have on the qualitative and quantitative changes in the microbiota and thus influence the balance between microbial commensalism and pathogenicity. In the last section of this review, we present a summary of the strategies that target IL-10 for therapeutic purposes using probiotics, purified proteins or biologicals.