The present invention provides alternatives to traditional drug and surgical treatments for IBD. In particular, the present invention provides compositions and methods for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as IBD in humans using TGF-.beta. therapy. The compositions of the present invention provide vectors containing TGF-.beta. under the control of an inducible promoter. In particularly preferred embodiments, the present invention provides regulated plasmid constructs capable of inducing TGF-.beta. production. In preferred embodiments, the methods of the present invention utilize the vectors described for assaying the expression of a gene in a cell. In some preferred embodiments, the methods of the present invention utilize the administration of TGF-.beta. containing vectors to treat IBD. In alternative preferred embodiments, the present invention provides methods and compositions for the induction of high-level interleukin (e.g., IL-10) production.