TY - JOUR T1 - L.F. da Rocha Jr, <em>et al</em> reply JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 2221 LP - 2221 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.120876 VL - 39 IS - 11 AU - LAURINDO FERREIRA da ROCHA, Jr AU - ÂNGELA LUZIA BRANCO PINTO DUARTE AU - ANDRÉA TAVARES DANTAS AU - HENRIQUE ATAÍDE MARIZ AU - IVAN da ROCHA PITTA AU - SUELY LINS GALDINO AU - MAIRA GALDINO da ROCHA PITTA Y1 - 2012/11/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/39/11/2221.1.abstract N2 - To the Editor:We thank Xie and colleagues for their comments1 on our article2 and for applying expertise to this question of interleukin 22 (IL-22) as a possible therapeutic target in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and as a promising candidate biomarker.Novel cytokines have emerged recently as contributing to the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. Knowledge about the role of IL-22 in autoimmune diseases is increasing and may reveal new therapeutic options for modulation of this cytokine. The role of IL-22 has been investigated in other inflammatory autoimmune diseases, such as psoriasis3 … Address correspondence to Dr. M.G.R. Pitta, UFPE, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Bioquímica, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, 1235, Cidade Universitária, Recife PE, 50670-901, Brazil., E-mail: mgrpitta{at}gmail.com ER -