Activated Th cell and NK cell subsets are the primary sources of IL-22 which can bind to the dimeric IL-22R complex (both IL- 22R1 and IL-10R2), resulting in the signal transduction of JAK-STAT pathway in human cervical epithelial cells. Through facilitating the phosphorylation of STAT1, IL-22 induces IFN-stimulated genes (ISG15, ISG56, OAS-1, OAS-2, and Mx2) that have the ability to block HSV-2 DNA transport to cell nuclear and inhibit viral translation, assembly and release. In addition, through the binding to the receptors on human cervical epithelial cells, IL-22 induces the expression of the tight junction proteins (ZO-1 and Occludin), the key cell membrane components for the cell integrity.